Southern Alps (geology)

Southern Alps (geology)

The Southern Alps are a geological subdivision of the European Alps. The Southern Alps are the part of the Alps that are found south of the Periadriatic Seam, a major geological faultzone across the Alps. The Southern Alps contain almost the same area as the Southern Calcareous Alps, a geographical subdivision of the Alps.

The rocks of the Southern Alps gradually go over in the "Dinarides" or Dinaric Alps to the southeast. In the southwest they disappear below recent sediments of the Po basin that are laying discordant on top of them.

Lithology

The Southern Alps are composed of material from the Adriatic or Apulian tectonic plate, the area is a part of this plate. These are mainly Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, most of them limestones.

Tectonics

In contradiction to the Central Eastern Alps north of the Periadriatic Seam, the geology of the Southern Alps is not characterized by nappes. Neither are high grade metamorphic rocks common in the region. The Southern Alps are tectonically characterized by large scale thrusting and folding to the south, the dominant "vergence" (direction of fold asymmetry) in the region is southward. As is also the case in the southern foreland of the Pyrenees, thrusts in the Southern Alps are oriented along listric fault planes with relatively shallow decollement horizons.

To the west, south of the Valle d'Aosta, the Southern Alps form a huge monocline, up until the point that mantle material of the Apulian plate crops out in what is called the Ivrea zone.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Southern Alps (disambiguation) — Southern Alps may refer to: * Southern Alps (geology), a geological subdivision of the European Alps *, also known as the Akaishi Mountains, in Japan * Southern Alps, a mountain range on the South Island of New Zealand …   Wikipedia

  • Alps — /alps/, n. (used with a pl. v.) a mountain range in S Europe, extending from France through Switzerland and Italy into Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia. Highest peak, Mont Blanc, 15,781 ft. (4810 m). * * * I Mountain system, south central Europe.… …   Universalium

  • Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group — (南八ヶ岳 Minami Yatsugatake) Volcanic group …   Wikipedia

  • Geology of the Alps — The Alps form a part of a Tertiary orogenic belt of mountain chains, called the Alpide belt, that stretches through southern Europe and Asia from the Atlantic all the way to the Himalayas. This belt of mountain chains was formed during the Alpine …   Wikipedia

  • Geology of New Zealand — The continent of Zealandia The geology of New Zealand is noted for its volcanic activity, earthquakes and geothermal areas because of its position on the boundary of the Australian Plate and Pacific Plates. New Zealand was earlier part of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Alps — Alpe redirects here. For the German river, see Alpe (river). For other uses, see Alps (disambiguation). Alps Range The …   Wikipedia

  • Geology of the North Sea — Contents 1 Tectonic structure 2 Precambrian 3 Finnmarkian, Athollian, Caledonian Orogenies …   Wikipedia

  • geology — /jee ol euh jee/, n., pl. geologies. 1. the science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is… …   Universalium

  • Geology of Europe — The geology of Europe is varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary.Europe s most significant feature is the dichotomy between… …   Wikipedia

  • Southern England Chalk Formation — The Wealden Anticline …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”