Cimmerian Orogeny Cimmerian Orogeny The Cimmerian Orogeny was an orogeny that created mountain ranges that now lie in Central Asia. The orogeny is believed to have begun 200–150 million years ago (much of the Jurassic Period), when the Cimmerian plate collided with the southern coast of Kazakhstania and North and South China, closing the ancient Paleo-Tethys Ocean between them. The plate consisted of what are now known as Turkey, Iran, Tibet and western Southeast Asia. Much of the plate's northern boundary formed mountain ranges that were as high as the present-day Himalayas. The orogeny continued well into the Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic.
Kaikoura Orogeny Kaikoura Orogeny The Kaikoura Orogeny is a New Zealand orogeny that has given birth to the Southern Alps. It began 25 million years ago along the Alpine Fault. In this orogeny, the Southern Alps are being formed because the Pacific Plate is colliding with the Australian Plate, with a predominant oblique dextral motion, but a minor component of thrust faulting. As the plates collide, the crust thickens, with deformation and associated uplift due to isostacy occurring primarily within the Pacific Plate. From 25 to 15 million years ago most of New Zealand was still covered by ocean. Almost all the