Alpine orogeny building began in the Paleocene to Eocene. The process continues currently in some of the Alpide mountain ranges. The Alpine orogeny is considered one of the three major phases of orogeny in Europe that define the geology of that continent, along with the Caledonian orogeny that formed the Old Red Sandstone Continent when the continents Baltica and Laurentia collided in the early Paleozoic, and the Hercynian or Variscan orogeny that formed Pangaea when Gondwana and the Old Red Sandstone Continent collided in the middle to late Paleozoic. Alpine orogeny The Alpine orogeny or Alpide orogeny is an orogenic phase in
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