Armorican terrane

Armorica is in Earth's history the name of a small continent that existed during the Palaeozoic. Today, the research tends to Armorica instead of a single small continent rather a group of micro- continents or continental crustal blocks to see, also known as Armorica group or Armorica -Terra Group (English Armorica Terrane Assemblage ) is called. In the most recent paleogeographic reconstructions of the Armorica Group is considered part of the Hun - Superterrans that far ranged in Paleozoic in eastern continuation of Armorica group to Asia.

Naming

In Roman times was Armorica or Aremorica the name of the north-western parts of Gaul (that is about today's Brittany and Normandy ).

Definition

To Armorica Group includes the following Central European crustal blocks: the Armorican Massif in Brittany, the Saxothuringian that Moldanubicum the Moldanubian Terrans, the Paleozoic core of the Alps, parts of the Iberian Peninsula, the Great Hungarian Plain, the Paleozoic subsurface of Greece and other areas. These crustal blocks were welded during the Variscan orogeny at Laurussia and consolidated. Today, they are covered in large parts of younger sediments and were later even, involved in an orogeny, the Alpidic orogeny again to some extent.

History of the small continent

The area of the small continent Armorica or the micro- continents of Armorica group was strongly deformed in the Cadomian orogeny in the upper Proterozoic before about 650-550 million years ago and consolidated. Later, it came before the beginning of the Cambrian to a profound erosion of these areas. About this basement are unconformably Cambrian strata, which were later folded in the Variscan orogeny and altered diagenetically. At that time, the micro- continents of Armorica group were still on the northern edge of Gondwana, then north to the western North Africa. After the demolition of Avalonia from Gondwana northern edge of the ocean Rheische had opened between Avalonia and Gondwana. In the upper Silurian then also broke the Armorica group from the western part of Hun - Superterrans of Gondwana and drifted on Laurussia to the north. Between Armorica ( and its continuation to the east, the Asian Hunischen terranes ) and the Gondwana Palaeotethys opened. The Rheische Ocean between Laurussia and Armorica was subducted below Armorica. In the Lower Devonian now broke from also consolidated the southern edge Laurussias smaller crustal blocks from, and between these crustal blocks and Laurussia was a narrow ocean basins, the Rhenoherzynikum. In the Middle Devonian Armorica collided first with these crustal blocks. Only then collided in the Upper Carboniferous Gondwana with Laurussia. Palaeotethys and Rhenoherzynischer ocean was subducted. Between Laurussia Gondwana and the broad belt of the Variscan folding was created.

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