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
Mandla Plant Fossils National Park some work on the plant fossils of Mandla, though the study is yet in a preliminary stage. In Ghuguwa and Umaria the standing, petrified trunks of trees have been identified as Gymnosperms and Angiosperms- Monocotyledons and palms. There are certain Bryophytes also. There is some question about whether the fossils are from the late Jurassic or the early and mid Cretaceous age. This is because when the breakup of the single land mass, Pangaea occurred, it was split by the continental drift into Laurasia and Gondwana somewhere between the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages. India formed a part of Gondwana. Depending