Editing Geology of the Alps

{{Short description|The formation and structure of the European Alps}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
[[File:Alps 2007-03-13 10.10UTC 1px-250m.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Satellite image of the Alps, March 2007]]
[[File:Folded Rocks Layers - Tête à Pierre Grept and Arête Vierge - in Swiss Alps - aerial view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Folded rock layers exposed in the Swiss Alps]]

The [[Alps]] form part of a [[Cenozoic]] [[orogeny|orogenic]] belt of [[mountain chain]]s, called the [[Alpide belt]], that stretches through [[southern Europe]] and [[Asia]] from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] all the way to the [[Himalayas]]. This belt of mountain chains was formed during the [[Alpine orogeny]]. A gap in these mountain chains in [[central Europe]] separates the Alps from the [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]] to the east. Orogeny took place continuously and [[tectonics|tectonic]] [[subsidence]] has produced the gaps in between.

The Alps arose as a result of the collision of the [[African plate|African]] and [[Eurasian plate|Eurasian]] [[tectonic plate]]s, in which the [[Alpine Tethys]], which was formerly in between these [[continent]]s, disappeared. Enormous [[Compressive stress|stress]] was exerted on [[sediment]]s of the Alpine Tethys basin and its [[Mesozoic]] and early [[Cenozoic]] [[Stratum|strata]] were pushed against the stable [[Eurasia]]n landmass by the northward-moving African landmass. Most of this occurred during the [[Oligocene]] and [[Miocene]] epochs. The pressure formed great recumbent folds, or ''[[nappe]]s'', that rose out of what had been the Alpine Tethys and pushed northward, often breaking and sliding one over the other to form gigantic [[thrust fault]]s. [[basement (geology)|Crystalline basement]] [[Rock (geology)|rocks]], which are exposed in the higher central regions, are the rocks forming [[Mont Blanc]], the [[Matterhorn]], and high peaks in the [[Pennine Alps]] and [[Hohe Tauern]] {{Harv|Stampfli|Borel|2004}}.

Subsequently, the formation of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] covered terranes originating within the African plate south of the mountains.

==Geologic boundaries==
[[File:Tectonic map Mediterranean EN.svg|thumb|350px|Tectonic map of the [[Mediterranean]], showing the position of the Alps within other structures of the [[Alpide belt]]]]
The Alps form a northward [[wikt:convex|convex]] arc around their southeastern [[foreland basin]], the [[Po Valley|Po river basin]] (to be precise the south is in fact their [[hinterland (geology)|hinterland]]). [[Quaternary]] and [[Neogene]] [[sediment]]s in this basin lie discordant over the southernmost [[thrust fault|thrust]] units. In the northeast, southward [[Strike and dip|dipping]] and internally thrust [[Cenozoic]] foreland deposits ([[flysch]] and [[molasse]]) are found. This [[Bavaria]]n and [[Switzerland|Swiss]] foreland basin is called the [[Molasse basin]]. The foreland basin deposits are overthrust from the south by the thrustfront of the Alpine nappes. In Switzerland the Molasse Basin is rimmed to the northwest by the [[Jura Mountains]], an external fold-and-thrust belt, which can be seen as part of the Alps geologically. The western part of the Molasse basin forms the plateau of the [[Swiss plateau|''Mittelland'']] between the Alps and Jura Mountains. The Jura Mountains' location is still a topic for debate. A possible tectonic factor is the north–south extensional [[Upper Rhine Graben]] to the north.

The Alps continue fairly smoothly into the following related Alpine mountain ranges: the [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]] to the southwest, the [[Dinarides]] to the southeast and the Carpathians to the northeast. In the east the Alps are bounded by the [[Viennese Basin]] and the [[Pannonian Basin]], where east–west stretching of the crust takes place.

==Geologic structure==
The Alps have a complex geology, but the general structure is the same as for other mountain ranges formed by [[continental collision]].

===Subdivisions===
The Alps are often divided into [[Eastern Alps|Eastern]], [[Central Alps|Central]] and [[Western Alps]], even though the boundaries between these subdivisions are arbitrary. The division between the Eastern and Central Alps is approximately the line between [[St. Margrethen]], [[Chur]] and [[Sondrio]]; the division between the Central and Western Alps is unclear {{Harv|Pfiffner|2009|p= 25}}. The main [[suture (geology)|suture]] (big [[shear zone]]) in the Alps is called the [[Periadriatic Seam]] and runs through the Alps from east to west. This is the boundary between materials from the (former) European and [[Adriatic plate]] [[tectonic plate|plates]]. South of this line are [[Fold (geology)|fold]]ed and thrust units of the [[Southern Alps (geology)|Southern Alps]].

North of the Periadriatic seam, rocks from three main [[palaeogeography|palaeogeographic]] "domains" are found: the [[Helvetic (geology)|Helvetic or Dauphinois]], the [[Penninic]] and the [[Austroalpine]] domains. This subdivision is made according to the paleogeographical origins of the rocks: the Helvetic zone contains material from the European plate, the Austroalpine zone material from the Adriatic plate, the Penninic zone material from the domains that existed in between the two plates.<ref>See for a detailed subdivision of the geologic units in the Alps for example {{Harv|Schmid|Stefan|Fügenshuh|Kissling|2004}}, {{Harv|Compagnoni|2003}}, {{Harv|Pfiffner|2009|pp=25–27}}</ref>
[[File:Alps geology map en.jpg|thumb|none|800px|Simplified geological map of the Alps, showing the tectonic subdivision and the largest geological structures. Some details are based on controversial assumptions.]]

===Structural geology===
[[File:Dent de Morcles S.jpg|thumb|Folded Helvetic nappe rock layers at [[Dent de Morcles]], Switzerland<ref name="SchusterStüwe2010">{{cite journal | url=http://www.zobodat.at/pdf/MittNatVerSt_140_0005-0022.pdf | title=Die Geologie der Alpen im Zeitraffer | last1=Schuster | first1=Ralf | last2=Stüwe | first2=Kurt | journal=Mitteilungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereines für Steiermark | year=2010 | volume=140 | pages=5–21 | language=de}}</ref>]]
Folds and thrusts north of the Periadriatic seam are generally directed to the north, the dominant ''[[vergence (geology)|vergence]]'' (direction of fold asymmetry) in these units is to the north. In the Southern Alps the thrusts are to the south so the vergence is dominantly southward.

The rocks of the Austroalpine nappes form most of the outcrops in the [[Eastern Alps]], while in the west these nappes are, with the exception of a few places (the [[Dent Blanche klippe|Dent Blanche]] and [[Sesia unit]]s), [[erosion|eroded]] away. In the [[Western Alps]] the Helvetic nappes can be found to the north and west, sometimes still under [[klippe]]s of the Penninic nappes, as in the Préalpes du Sud south of [[Lake Geneva]].

In many spots in the central zone north of the Periadriatic seam large [[antiform]]s called [[anticlinorium|anticlinoria]] can be found, sometimes they are displayed in the [[outcrop]]s as [[window (geology)|windows]]. At the level of one of these windows (the [[Hohe Tauern window]]) the Periadriatic seam curves to the north, which suggests that the Adriatic plate is more [[Stiffness|rigid]] in this particular spot, working as a so-called indentor. In the central part of Switzerland, uplift took place along a [[ductile]] north–south [[normal fault]]zone called the [[Rhône-Simplon line]]. The structure thus formed is called the [[Lepontin dome]].

===Intrusions===
In older rocks from the lower [[Crust (geology)|crust]] intrusions are found that formed during or just after the [[Variscan orogeny|Hercynian orogeny]]. These intrusions are older than the Alps and have nothing to do with their formation. [[radiometric dating|Radiometric age determination]] yields ages around 320&nbsp;[[annum|Ma]]. Slightly younger [[felsic]] intrusions formed by [[Permian]] and [[Triassic]] [[Extension (geology)|extension]] can also be found.

[[Intrusion]]s from the formation of the Alps themselves are relatively rare. The largest ones can be found along the Periadriatic seam, the largest one is the [[Adamello|Adamello granite]]. In the Penninic nappes [[migmatite]]s and small melts can be found.

===Metamorphism===
The rocks of the Helvetic and Austroalpine nappes and the southern Alps did not experience high grade [[metamorphism]] in the major Alpine phases in the Cenozoic. Any high grade [[metamorphic rocks]] in these units will not have become metamorphic due to the formation of the Alps. Other possibilities are:
* they were originally from lower regions of the crust and got to the surface by [[Tectonic uplift|uplift]], which gives them [[amphibolite facies]] at most.
* in the Austroalpine nappes [[eclogite]]s occur that were formed during the [[Cretaceous]] period, in an early phase of mountain building called the Eo-Alpine orogeny. These are high-grade metamorphic rocks, but their metamorphism is unrelated to the (later) formation of the Alps.

Cenozoic eclogites do occur in the Penninic nappes, which contain material that has been through [[blueschist facies|blueschist]] or [[eclogite facies]]. These nappes show a [[Metamorphism#Regional|Barrovian field gradient]]. This type of metamorphism can only occur when a rock is in [[pressure]]–[[temperature]] conditions that normally occur in the Earth's [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]]. This means the Penninic nappes consist of material that was [[subduction|subducted]] into the mantle and was later [[obduction|obducted]] onto the crust.

Alpine ([[Cenozoic]]) [[Contact metamorphism|contact-]] or Buchan metamorphism is rare in the Alps, because intrusions are rare.

==Tectonic history==
The Alps are a [[fold and thrust belt]].  Folding and thrusting is the expression of [[crustal shortening]] which is caused by the [[Convergent boundary|convergent]] movements of the European and Adriatic plates.

===Breakup of Pangaea===
At the end of the [[Carboniferous]] period (300&nbsp;[[mega-annum|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 [[erosion|erode]] destroy the Hercynic mountain ranges. In the [[Permian]], the main deposits in Europe were [[sandstone]] and [[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]], products of erosion in the Hercynic mountain range.  At the same time, crustal extension took place because the mountain range was [[isostasy|isostatically]] unstable (this is called orogenic collapse). Due to extension, basins formed along the axis of the mountain range and [[felsic]] [[volcanism]] occurred. This was the first phase of [[Rift (geology)|rifting]] between Europe and Africa. Due to the [[eustacy|rising sealevel]] in the [[Triassic]] period, the eastern margin of Pangaea was flooded. Shallow [[shelf sea]]s and [[epicontinental sea]]s existed in which [[evaporite]]s and [[limestone]]s were deposited.

===Jurassic===
In the early [[Jurassic]] period (180&nbsp;[[annum|Ma]]), a narrow ocean began to form between the northern (North America and Eurasia) and southern (Africa and South America) parts of Pangaea.  The [[oceanic crust]] that was formed in the process is known as the [[Piemont-Liguria Ocean]]. This ocean is generally regarded as a western extension of the [[Tethys Ocean]].  Although it was not really connected to it, a [[peninsula]]r piece of continental crust of the African plate called the [[Adriatic plate]] lay in between the African and European plates and was involved in subdividing the Tethys and early Alps formation.  Sometimes the names ''Alpine Tethys'' or ''Western Tethys Ocean'' are used to describe a number of small oceanic basins that formed southwest of the European plate, to distinguish them from the Neo-Tethys Ocean in the east.  Because the Jurassic was a time with high sealevels, all these oceans were connected by shallow seas. On the continents, shallow sea deposits (limestones) were formed during the entire Mesozoic.

In the late Jurassic the [[microcontinent Iberia]] broke away from the European plate and the [[Valais Ocean]] was formed between the two plates. Both Piemont-Liguria and Valais Oceans were never large oceans such as today's Atlantic Ocean. What they might have been like is the opening below the [[Red Sea]], continuing down through Africa, forming the [[Great Rift Valley (geographical concept)|Great Rift Valley]]. Eventually, a new ocean will cut through east Africa as the rift develops, dividing a large section of land from the main continent.

When at the end of the Jurassic the Adriatic plate began to move toward the European plate, [[oceanic trench]]es formed in the eastern Alps.  In these, deep marine sediments were deposited, such as [[radiolarite]]s and [[lutite]]s.

===Eo-Alpine phase in the Cretaceous===
The [[Divergent boundary|divergent]] movement of the European and African plates was relatively short-lived. When the Atlantic Ocean formed between Africa and South America (about 100&nbsp;[[annum|Ma]]) Africa began moving northeast.

As a result of this process, the soft layers of [[ocean sediment]] in the Alpine Tethys Oceans were compressed and folded as they were slowly thrust upwards. Caught in the middle of the merging continents, the area of the Tethys Sea between Africa and Eurasia began to shrink as oceanic crust subducted beneath the Adriatic plate. The tremendous forces at work in the lower continental foundation caused the European base to bend downward into the hot mantle and soften. The southern (African) landmass then continued its northward movement over some 1,000&nbsp;km (600&nbsp;mi). The slow folding and pleating of the sediments as they rose up from the depths is believed to have initially formed a series of long east–west volcanic [[island arc]]s. [[Volcanic rock]]s produced in these island arcs are found among the ophiolites of the Penninic nappes.

In the [[late Cretaceous]] the first [[continental collision]] took place as the northern part of the Adriatic subplate collided with Europe. This is called the [[Eo-Alpine orogeny|Eo-Alpine phase]], and is sometimes regarded as the first phase of the formation of the Alps. The part of the Adriatic plate that was deformed in this phase is the material that would later form the Austroalpine nappes and the Southern Alps. In some fragments of the Piemont-Liguria Ocean now in the Penninic nappes an Eo-Alpine deformation phase can also be recognized.

Apart from the Eo-Alpine fold and thrust belt other regions were still in the marine domain during the Cretaceous. On the southern margins of the European continent shallow seas formed limestone deposits, that would later be (in the Alps) incorporated into the Helvetic nappes. At the same time sedimentation of [[Anoxic sea water|anoxic]] [[clay]] took place in the deep-marine realms of the Piemont-Liguria and Valais Oceans. This clay would later become the [[Bündner slate]]s from the Penninic nappes.

===Paleocene and Eocene===
When the Piemont-Liguria oceanic crust had completely subducted beneath the [[Adriatic plate]] in the [[Paleocene]], the [[Briançonnais microcontinent]], according to some a piece of the [[Iberian plate]], arrived at the subduction zone. The Briançonnais microcontinent and Valais Ocean (with island arcs) subducted beneath the Adriatic plate. They stayed at around 70&nbsp;km (45&nbsp;mi) below the surface during the [[Eocene]], reaching the [[eclogite facies]] and becoming intruded by [[migmatite]]s. This material would later become the Penninic nappes, but a large part of the Briançonnais terrane subducted further into the mantle and was lost. Meanwhile, at the surface the upper crust of the Adriatic plate (the later Austroalpine nappes) was thrust over the European crust. This was the main collisional phase in the formation of the Alps.

===Oligocene and Miocene===
When the subducting [[Slab (geology)|slab]] broke off (known as slab breakoff, [[slab pull]]) and fell away, the subducted crust began moving up. This led to the uplift of the thickened continental crust which led, in the [[Miocene]], to [[extension (geology)|extension]]. In the case of the Alps, the extension could only take place in a west–east direction because the Adriatic plate was still converging from the south. An enormous thrustzone evolved that would later become the [[Periadriatic Seam]]. The zone also accommodated [[Fault (geology)|dextral]] [[Shear (geology)|shear]] that resulted from the west–east extension. With the exception of the [[allochthon]] Austroalpine material, this thrust evolved at the boundary of the Adriatic and European plates. The central zones of the Alps rose and were subsequently eroded. Tectonic windows and domes as the [[Hohe Tauern window]] were formed in this way.

Meanwhile, the thrust front of the Penninic and Austroalpine nappes moved on, pushing all material in its way northward. Due to this pressure a [[decollement]] developed over which thrusting took place. The thrust material would become the Helvetic nappes.

The Adriatic plate started rotating counterclockwise.<ref name="IJES 14" />

===[[Quaternary]]===
After subduction of oceanic crust of the European plate collision nearly completely stopped in the Western and Central Alps ([https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00531-014-1060-3 See map Figure 2]).,<ref name="IJES 14">{{cite journal|last1=Handy|first1=Mark R.|last2=Ustaszewski|first2=Kamil|last3=Kissling|first3=Eduard|title=Reconstructing the Alps–Carpathians–Dinarides as a key to understanding switches in subduction polarity, slab gaps and surface motion|journal=International Journal of Earth Sciences|date=21 September 2014|volume=104|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.1007/s00531-014-1060-3 |bibcode=2015IJEaS.104....1H|s2cid=129726603|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Champagnac|first1=Jean-Daniel|last2=Schlunegger|first2=Fritz|last3=Norton|first3=Kevin|last4=von Blanckenburg|first4=Friedhelm|last5=Abbühl|first5=Luca M.|last6=Schwab|first6=Marco|title=Erosion-driven uplift of the modern Central Alps|journal=Tectonophysics|date=September 2009|volume=474|issue=1–2|pages=236–249|doi=10.1016/j.tecto.2009.02.024 |bibcode=2009Tectp.474..236C|url=http://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/escidoc:238796}}</ref> These parts are still uplifted up to 2.5&nbsp;mm/year in some areas.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nocquet|first1=J.-M.|last2=Sue|first2=C.|last3=Walpersdorf|first3=A.|last4=Tran|first4=T.|last5=Lenôtre|first5=N.|last6=Vernant|first6=P.|last7=Cushing|first7=M.|last8=Jouanne|first8=F.|last9=Masson|first9=F.|last10=Baize|first10=S.|last11=Chéry|first11=J.|last12=van der Beek|first12=P. A.|title=Present-day uplift of the western Alps|journal=Scientific Reports|date=27 June 2016|volume=6|issue=1|pages=28404|doi=10.1038/srep28404 |pmid=27346228|pmc=4921835|bibcode=2016NatSR...628404N}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sternai|first1=P.|last2=Sue|first2=C.|last3=Husson|first3=L.|last4=Serpelloni|first4=E.|last5=Becker|first5=T.|last6=Willett|first6=S.|last7=Faccenna|first7=C.|last8=Di Giulio|first8=A.|last9=Spada|first9=G.|last10=Jolivet|first10=L.|last11=Valla|first11=P.|last12=Petit|first12=C.|last13=Nocquet|first13=J.-M.|last14=Walpersdorf|first14=A.|last15=Castelltort|first15=S.  |title=Present-day uplift of the western Alps: Evaluating mechanisms and models of their relative contributions|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|date=5 January 2019|volume=190|pages=589–604|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.01.005 |bibcode=2019ESRv..190..589S|hdl=10281/229017|s2cid=96447591 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> It is thought it is mainly due to [[isostasy|rebound]] after weight loss from melting ice caps after the [[Last Glacial Period|last ice age]], intensive [[erosion]] during glaciation and some processes in the [[lithosphere]] and [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]]. The Adriatic plate, pushed by the African plate, still rotates counterclockwise around the axis near [[Ivrea]] in northwestern Italy and is subducted in Eastern Alps and causes [[tectonic uplift]] (thrust) there.<ref name="IJES 14" />

==Geomorphology==
The formation of the Alpine landscape seen today is a recent development – only some two million years old. Since then, [[Quaternary glaciation|five known ice ages]] have done much to remodel the region. The tremendous [[glacier]]s that flowed out of the mountain valleys repeatedly covered all of the Swiss plain and shoved the [[topsoil]] into the low rolling hills seen today. They scooped out the lakes and rounded off the limestone hills along the northern border.

The last great glacier advance in the Alps ended some 10,000&nbsp;years ago, leaving the large lake now known as [[Lake Neuchatel]]. The ice in this region reached some 1,000&nbsp;m (0.6&nbsp;mi) in depth and flowed out of the region behind [[Lake Geneva]] some 100&nbsp;km (60&nbsp;mi) to the South. Today large granite boulders are found scattered in the forests in the region. These were carried and pushed by the glaciers that filled this part of the western plain for some 80,000&nbsp;years during the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]]. From their composition it has been possible to determine the precise area from which they began their journey. As the last ice age ended, it is believed that the [[climate]] changed so rapidly that the glaciers retreated back into the mountains in only some 200 to 300&nbsp;years time.

Besides leaving an Arctic-like wasteland of barren rock and gravel, the huge [[moraine]] of material that was dropped at the front of the glaciers blocked huge masses of melt water that poured onto the central plain during this period. A huge lake resulted, flooding the region to a depth of several hundred meters for many years. The old shoreline can be seen in some places along the low hills at the foot of the mountains – the hills actually being glacial side-moraines. As the [[Aare]], which now drains western Switzerland into the [[Rhine]], eventually opened the natural dam, the water levels in the plain fell to near the present levels .

In the last 150&nbsp;years humans have changed the flow and levels of all the rivers and most of the extensive wetlands and small lakes have disappeared under the effects of farming and other development.

It has been proposed that the height of mountains in the [[Dauphiné Alps]] is limited by [[glacier erosion]], an effect referred to as the [[glacial buzzsaw]].<ref name=Evans>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Glacial landsforms, erosional features |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science|author-last=Evans|author-first=I.S.|editor-last=Elias|editor-first=Scott A.|editor-last2=Mock|editor-first2=Cary J.|edition=2nd |year=2013 |publisher=Elsevier |pages=861|isbn=978-0-444-53643-3}}</ref>

==Geologic research==
The Alps were the first mountain system to be extensively studied by geologists, and many of the geologic terms associated with mountains and glaciers originated there. The term ''Alps'' has been applied to mountain systems around the world that exhibit similar traits.

===Geophysics===
In the 1980s and 1990s, a number of teams began mapping the structures in the lower crust by [[seismology]]. The result was a number of detailed geological cross-sections of the deep structures below the Alps. When seismic research is combined with insights from [[geodesy|gravitational research]] and mantle [[tomography]] the subducting slab of the European plate can be mapped. Tomography also shows some older detached slabs deeper in the mantle.

==See also==
{{Portal|Alps|left =  |break = }}
* [[Andean orogeny]]
* [[Swiss plateau]]
* [[Geology of the Jura Massif]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

* {{Cite journal|last=Compagnoni |first=R. |year=2003 |title=HP metamorphic belt of the western Alps |journal=Episodes |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=200–204 |doi=10.18814/epiiugs/2003/v26i3/008 |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Sternai |first=P. |display-authors=etal |year=2019 |title=Present-day uplift of the European Alps: Evaluating mechanisms and models of their relative contributions |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=190 |pages=589–604 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.01.005 |bibcode=2019ESRv..190..589S |doi-access=free |hdl=10281/229017 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Dal Piaz |first1=G.V. |last2=Bistacchi |first2=A. |last3=Massironi |first3=M. |year=2003 |title=Geological outline of the Alps |journal=Episodes |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=175–180 |ref=CITEREFDalPiaz2003 |doi=10.18814/epiiugs/2003/v26i3/004 |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Frisch |first1=W. |last2=Dunkl |first2=I. |last3=Kuhlemann |first3=J. |year=2000 |title=Post-collisional large-scale extension in the Eastern Alps |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=327 |issue=3 |page=239 |bibcode = 2000Tectp.327..239F |doi = 10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00204-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Pfiffner |first=O.A. |year=2009 |title=Geologie der Alpen |publisher=Haupt Verlag |place=Bern/Stuttgart/Wien |isbn=978-3-8252-8416-9 |language=de }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Selverstone |first1=Jane |author-link1=Jane Selverstone|title=Are the alps collapsing? |journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |date=27 October 2004 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=113–132 |doi=10.1146/annurev.earth.33.092203.122535}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://pages.unibas.ch/earth/tecto/Members/Schmid/alps/schmid_html/Text_Schmid.html |title=Description of the Western and Central Alps |first=Stefan M |last=Schmid |publisher=Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, University of Basel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051219072231/http://pages.unibas.ch/earth/tecto/Members/Schmid/alps/schmid_html/Text_Schmid.html |archive-date=19 December 2005 |df=dmy }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Schmid |first1=Stefan M. |last2=Fügenshuh |first2=Bernhard |last3=Kissling |first3=Eduard |last4=Schuster |first4=Ralf |year=2004 |title=Tectonic map and overall architecture of the Alpine orogen |journal=Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae |volume=97 |pages=93–117 |doi=10.1007/s00015-004-1113-x |s2cid=22393862 |url=http://pages.unibas.ch/earth/tecto/research/Schmid_et_al_2004_Ecl.pdf |ref=CITEREFSchmidStefanFügenshuhKissling2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128152822/http://pages.unibas.ch/earth/tecto/research/Schmid_et_al_2004_Ecl.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2006 |df=dmy-all }}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Schmid |first1=S.M. |last2=Kissling |first2=E. |year=2000 |title=The arc of the western Alps in the light of geophysical data on deep crustal structure |journal=Tectonics |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=62 |bibcode = 2000Tecto..19...62S |doi = 10.1029/1999TC900057 |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Schmid |first1=S.M. |last2=Pfiffner |first2=O.A. |last3=Froitzheim |first3=N. |last4=Schönborn |first4=G. |last5=Kissling |first5=E. |year=1996 |title=Geophysical-geological transect and tectonic evolution of the Swiss-Italian Alps |journal=Tectonics |volume=15 |issue=5 |page=1036 |bibcode = 1996Tecto..15.1036S |doi = 10.1029/96TC00433 |url=https://boris.unibe.ch/91518/1/Geophysical-geological%20transect%20and%20tectonic%20evolution%20of%20the%20Swiss-Italian%20Alps.pdf }}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Stampfli |first1=GM |last2=Borel |first2=GD |last3=Marchant |first3=R. |last4=Mosar |first4=J. |year=2002 |title=Western Alps geological constraints on western Tethyan reconstructions |editor=Rosenbaum, G. |editor2=Lister, G.S. |journal=Journal of the Virtual Explorer |volume=08 |doi=10.3809/jvirtex.2002.00057 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Stampfli |first=GM |year=1993 |title=Le Briançonnais, terrain exotique dans les Alps? |journal=Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae |volume=86 |page=1 |language=fr }}
* {{Cite book|vauthors=Stampfli GM, Borel GD |year=2004 |chapter=The TRANSMED Transects in Space and Time: Constraints on the Paleotectonic Evolution of the Mediterranean Domain |veditors=Cavazza W, Roure F, Spakman W, Stampfli GM, Ziegler P |title=The TRANSMED Atlas: the Mediterranean Region from Crust to Mantle |publisher=Springer Verlag|isbn=978-3-540-22181-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_GS4C3pOf8C&q=The+TRANSMED+Transects+in+Space+and+Time%3A+Constraints+on+the+Paleotectonic+Evolution+of+the+Mediterranean+Domain&pg=PA53}}
* {{Cite journal|author-link=Peter Ziegler |last=Ziegler |first=P.A. |year=1988 |title=Evolution of the Arctic-North Atlantic and the Western Tethys |journal=American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir |volume=43 }}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090503161325/http://www-sst.unil.ch/research/seismic/W_Alps.htm Geophysical research and the geology of the Alps]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051219072231/http://pages.unibas.ch/earth/tecto/Members/Schmid/alps/schmid_html/Text_Schmid.html The tectonic evolution of the western and central Alps and their forelands, website of prof. S.M. Schmid]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060912215409/http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo5xx/geo527/Alps/geology.html Alpine geology]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090326001908/http://www-sst.unil.ch/igcp_369/igcp369intro.htm Paleoreconstructions of the Alpine Tethys region, IGCP369 project website]
* [http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/97020/introduc.htm Platetectonic maps of the North Atlantic (including the Mediterranean) by Peter Ziegler]
* [http://christian.nicollet.free.fr/page/Alpes/geodynamique/alpes.html Plate tectonic reconstruction of the opening and closing of the Valais and Ligurian Oceans, website of Christian Nicollet (in French)]

{{Geology of Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geology Of The Alps}}
[[Category:Geology of the Alps| ]]
[[Category:Alps]]

[[de:Alpen#Geologie der Alpen]]