Cadomian Orogeny Cadomian Orogeny The Cadomian Orogeny was a tectonic event or series of events in the late Neoproterozoic, about 650–550 Ma, which probably included the formation of mountains. This occurred on the margin of the Gondwana continent, involving one or more collisions of island arcs and accretion of other material at a subduction zone. The precise events, and geographical position, are uncertain, but are thought to involve the terranes of Avalonia, Armorica and Iberia. Rocks deformed in the orogeny are found in several areas of Europe, including northern France, the English Midlands, southern Germany, Bohemia, southern Poland and the southwest Iberian
Cadomian Orogeny typical structure. After the orogeny, continental sediments were washed on top of the deformed Cadomian rocks. They include conglomerate and sandstone in Brittany, Jersey and Alderney. The Cap Frehel red beds are dated at . These post orogeny deposits were dumped from braided stream channels. The basins for these sediments followed the structural grain in the Cadomian Orogeny. There are two overall models for the formation of the Cadomian Orogeny. Firstly by Jean-Pierre Brun & P. Bale that compression to the south west of a volcanic arc and back arc basin onto the edge of the continent at the St