- Geology of Europe
The geology of
Europe is varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety oflandscape s found across thecontinent , from theScottish Highlands to the rollingplain s ofHungary .Europe's most significant feature is the dichotomy between highland and mountainous
Southern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging fromEngland in the west to theUral Mountains in the east. These two halves are separated by themountain chains ofPyrenees andAlps /Carpathians. The northern plains are delimited in the west by theScandinavian Mountains and the mountainous parts of theBritish Isles . The southern mountainous region is bounded by theMediterranean Sea . Major shallowwater bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are theCeltic Sea theNorth Sea , theBaltic Sea complex andBarents Sea .Components
Europe consist of the following components:
* the
Baltica craton - Scandinavia,Balticum ,Russia , and NorthernPoland /Germany ,
*Avalonia n fragments - England,Ireland ,Netherlands , Northern Germany, etc.,
*Laurentia n (North America n) fragments - WesternNorway andScotland ,
*Gondwana Fragments -Spain ,Italy ??,Malta , possibly belonging to theCimmeria n Arc,
* Neo-Tethys Ocean floor - the Pyrenees/Alps/Apennine/Balkan Alps /Carpathian complex,
* TheAnatolia n part of the Cimmerian Arc originating from GondwanaGeologic Timeline
Geological features
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Geological resources
Geology by country
ee also
*
Geography of Europe External links
* [http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/jpg/eurogy.jpgGeology map of Europe]
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