Alpine orogeny Alpine orogeny The Alpine orogeny or Alpide orogeny is an orogenic phase in the Late Mesozoic (Eoalpine) and the current Cenozoic that has formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt. These mountains include (from west to east) the Atlas, the Rif, the Baetic Cordillera, the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennine Mountains, the Dinaric Alps, the Hellenides, the Carpathians, the Balkan Mountains, the Taurus, the Armenian Highlands, the Caucasus, the Alborz, the Zagros, the Hindu Kush, the Pamir, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. Sometimes other names occur to describe the formation of separate mountain ranges: for example
Grenville orogeny the Highlands to the southeast and the Lowlands to the northwest. It is believed that the shear zone (the Carthage-Colton) was a transpressional boundary during the Ottawan, when the Highlands were thrust over the Lowlands. The Grenville province is named for the village of Grenville in Quebec, and constitutes the youngest portion of the Canadian Shield. Since the area has not undergone any regional metamorphic overprinting since the orogeny, it is considered an ideal study area for Grenville and pre-Grenville age tectonics. Hence, most of what is known about the orogeny and its processes is derived from the Grenville Province.