Caledonian orogeny Caledonian orogeny The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building era recorded in the northern parts of Ireland and Britain, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that occurred from the Ordovician to Early Devonian, roughly 490–390 million years ago (Ma). It was caused by the closure of the Iapetus Ocean when the continents and terranes of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia collided. The Caledonian orogeny is named for Caledonia, the Latin name for Scotland. The name was first used in 1885 by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess for an episode of mountain building in
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