Andean orogeny Andean orogeny The Andean orogeny () is an ongoing process of orogeny that began in the Early Jurassic and is responsible for the rise of the Andes mountains. The orogeny is driven by a reactivation of a long-lived subduction system along the western margin of South America. On a continental scale the Cretaceous (90 Ma) and Oligocene (30 Ma) were periods of re-arrangements in the orogeny. Locally the details of the nature of the orogeny varies depending on the segment and the geological period considered. Subduction orogeny has been occurring in what is now western South America since the break-up
Andean orogeny Pampeanas) where the effects of the ancient Pampean orogeny can be observed, owes it modern uplift and relief to the Andean orogeny in the Tertiary. Similarly the San Rafael Block east of the Andes and south of Sierras Pampeanas was raised in the Miocene during the Andean orogeny. In broad terms the most active phase of orogeny in area of southern Mendoza Province and northern Neuquén Province (34–38° S) happened in the Late Miocene while arc volcanism occurred east of the Andes. At more southern latitudes (36–39° S) various Jurassic and Cretaceous marine transgressions from the Pacific are recorded in