John Renier Bustamante

BSA - II

Geology of the Alps

Introduction
The Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of
Europe stretching approximately 1,200 kilometers across eight
Alpine countries from Austria and Slovenia in the east,
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, France to the west and Italy
and Monaco to the south.1 It contains many peaks higher than 4000
meters. This paper will present its structure, how the mountain
range formed, and the kind of environment.
Geologic Structure
The Alps are often divided into Eastern, Central Alps and Western
Alps, even though the boundaries between these subdivision are
rather 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 (Pfiffner 2009, p. 25). The main 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 Apulian plates. South of this line
are folded and thrusted units of the Southern Alps.
North of the Periadriatic seam, rocks from three main
palaeogeographic "domains" are found: the 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 Apulian plate, the Penninic
Zone material from the domains that existed in between the two
plates.2
Folds and thrusts north of the Periadriatic seam are
generally directed to the north. In the Southern Alps the thrusts
are to the south so the vergence is dominantly southward.
Formation

1 Alpine Convention. http://www.alpconv.org/pages/default.aspx

2 (Schmid et al. 2004), (Compagnoni 2003), (Pfiffner 2009, pp. 2527)

Geologists working in the Alps had recognized early on that

oceanic sediments occurred within the mountain range and were
juxtaposed with rock units typical for continents. The pyramid of
the Matterhorn, for example, is composed of crystalline basement
rocks that were formed more than 300Ma and which originated in
the former (Adriatic) margin of the continental African Plate. In
contrast, the base of the pyramid consists of volcanic and
sedimentary rocks that formed in an ocean basin (the Piemont
Ocean) 170 to 100Ma ago. The Piemont Ocean formed in response to
divergent motion between the Eurasian and African plates. The
Alpine Orogen evolved in a number of steps associated with
relative movements between the Eurasian and African plates. The
ocean basins between the two continental plates were closed in
the process. The first basin, the Piemont Ocean, closed in
Cretaceous times (100Ma). The second basin, the Valais, closed in
Tertiary times (35Ma). Closure of these basins resulted not only
from head-on collision, but also involved strikeslip movements
between the European and Adriatic margins.
During Cretaceous times, convergence between the Eurasian
and African plates was directed east and west. The European
margin was approaching the Adriatic margin, which had already
formed an ancestral mountain range. The Piemont Ocean had already
been subducted along an eastdipping subduction zone. Small
fragments of this ocean were scraped off of the descending plate
and were attached to the upper plate, a process called
underplating. The Brianconnais microcontinent was just in the
process of being subducted, but parts of it were also attached to
the upper plate. The Valais basin was still the site of
sedimentation, as was the shelf of the European margin. In the
region of the future Central and Eastern Alps, the eastwest
convergence was expressed as eastwest dextral strikeslip
movements. At about 40Ma, the convergence between the Eurasian
and African plates changed to a northsouth orientation. As a
consequence, a south-dipping subduction zone evolved, into which
the Valais basin gradually disappeared. Again, a number of
fragments were scraped off of the descending plate and were
accreted to the upper plate. About 35Ma, the two margins started
to collide. During this northsouth convergence, strikeslip
movements took place in the ancestral Western Alps. In the
Central and Eastern Alps, the collision phase compressed the two
margins and led to the stacking of crustal pieces, horizontal
shortening, and vertical stretching. Figure 12 shows two stages
of this collision phase in a crosssection trough the Central
Alps, reconstructed for 35 and 19Ma. The deformation of the two
continental margins pushed crustal fragments up inclined thrust
faults and uplifted parts of the orogen by large-scale folding

and vertical stretching. As a consequence, the land surface of

the ancestral Alps was uplifted. The ensuing high elevations
caused precipitation and triggered enhanced erosion. Rivers built
large fan deltas in the foreland of the Alps. As far as known,
denudation kept pace with uplift during mountain building.
Nevertheless, deep crustal fragments were exposed in the process,
bringing to the surface samples of rock that had been at depths
of several tens of kilometers during the early stages of the
formation of the Alps.3
The Environment
The Alps are split into five climatic zones, each with different
vegetation. The climate, plant life and animal life vary among
the different sections or zones of the mountains. The lowest zone
is the colline zone, which exists between 500 m (1,640 ft) and
1,000 m (3,281 ft), depending on the location. The montane zone
extends from 800 m (2,625 ft) to 1,700 m (5,577 ft), followed by
the sub-Alpine zone from 1,600 m (5,249 ft) to 2,400 m (7,874
ft). The Alpine zone, extending from tree line to snow line, is
followed by the glacial zone, which covers the glaciated areas of
the mountain. Climatic conditions show variances within the same
zones; for example, weather conditions at the head of a mountain
valley, extending directly from the peaks, are colder and more
severe than those at the mouth of a valley which tend to be less
severe and receive less snowfall.4
There are 13, 000 species of plants in the Alps. Examples of
plants that grow there are short pine trees, dwarf shrubs and
many flowering plants. However, with many species of plants
present, human interference has nearly exterminated the flora in
the Alps except some forest in the Austrian Alps. The Alps is
also the home of the ibex, marmots, golden eagle etc.
Conclusion
The formation of the Alps shows one of the events of the
long process of the Earths formation. It shows a glimpse of the
past. It also gives evidence of the active crust moving, sliding
and colliding with each other.
The Alps also served as the habitat of animals and allow
plants to grow. Their variation in different places also
contributed to the fact that Alps is not just only non-living
3 (Richard C. Selley, 2005)
4 Viazzo (1980), 17

like rocks and

propagation.

ice,

it

can

also

be

breeding

ground

and

Alps shows the slow change in our environment. We might not

feel it but if we look closely to it, its more than what we know
about it.

References:
1

Alpine Convention. http://www.alpconv.org/pages/default.aspx

2 Schmid, Stefan M.; Fgenshuh, Bernhard; Kissling, Eduard; Schuster,

Ralf (2004). "Tectonic map and overall architecture of the Alpine
orogen". Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 97: 93117.
3 Compagnoni, R. (2003). "HP metamorphic belt of the western Alps".
Episodes 26 (3): 200204.
4 Fiffner, O.A. (2009). Geologie der Alpen (in german).
Bern/Stuttgart/Wien: Haupt Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8252-8416-9.
5 Richard C. Selley, L. R. (2005). Encyclopedia of Geology. Elsevier
Ltd.
6 Viazzo, Pier Paolo. (1980). Upland Communities: Environment,
Population and Social Structure in the Alps since the Sixteenth
Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30663-8