Geology of the Alps (300 Ma), the Hercynian or Variscan orogeny, in which the supercontinent Pangaea formed from Gondwana and Laurasia, was ended. East of the terranes that now form the Alps was the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. The effects of wind and water were able to chemically and mechanically erode and destroy the Hercynic mountain ranges. In the Permian, the main deposits in Europe were sandstone and conglomerate, products of erosion in the Hercynic mountain range. At the same time, crustal extension took place because the mountain range was isostatically unstable (this is called orogenic collapse). Due to extension, basins formed along the axis of
Gondwana from all continents in the Southern Hemisphere, has a "Gondwanan distribution" and is often described as an archaic, or relict, lineage. The distributions in Proteaceae is, nevertheless, the result of both Gondwanan rafting and later oceanic dispersal. During the Silurian Gondwana extended from the Equator (Australia) to the South Pole (North Africa and South America) whilst Laurasia was located on the Equator opposite to Australia. A short-lived Late Ordovician glaciation was followed by a Silurian Hot House period. The End-Ordovician extinction, which resulted in 27% of marine invertebrate families and 57% of genera going extinct, occurred during this shift from