In the Mesozoic era the whole of the worn-down plateau was under sea. In this expansive shallow sea, which covered most of Assam and Bhutan, chalk deposits formed from seawater tides oscillating between land and sea levels. During subsequent periods, tertiary rocks were laid down. The Paro metamorphic belt may be found overlying Chasilakha-Soraya gneiss in some places. Silurian metamorphics in other places suggest long denudation of the surface. This was the time of Alpine mountain and large number of "active volcanoes" formation which act as backbone of the Himalayas and much of the movement in the palaeozoic region was probably connected with it. The Chomolhari tourmaline granites of Bhutan, stretching westwards from the Paro Chu and adds much depth below the present surface, were formed during this period of uplift, fracture and subsidence.