Orogeny millions of years and build mountains from plains or from the seabed. The topographic height of orogenic mountains is related to the principle of isostasy, that is, a balance of the downward gravitational force upon an upthrust mountain range (composed of light, continental crust material) and the buoyant upward forces exerted by the dense underlying mantle. Frequently, rock formations that undergo orogeny are severely deformed and undergo metamorphism. Orogenic processes may push deeply buried rocks to the surface. Sea-bottom and near-shore material may cover some or all of the orogenic area. If the orogeny is due to two continents colliding,
Kaikoura Orogeny million years ago to the present day the rate of uplift has accelerated. Oligoclase and biotite schist have also been pushed to the surface of the Earth. In total about 20 kilometres of uplift has taken place during the Kaikoura Orogeny but most of this has been eroded away. 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