Central Pangean Mountains
The Central Pangean Mountains were an extensive northeast–southwest trending
A number of mountain building periods were involved in the formation of the Central Pangean Mountains, including the
.The eastern portions of the range are also called the Variscan Mountains.[1]
Formation and decline
The Central Pangean Mountains were formed during the collision of
Climate
Climate modeling suggests that the Central Pangean Mountains contributed to the deposition of vast quantities of coal in the late Carboniferous. The mountains created an area of year-round heavy precipitation, with no dry season typical of a monsoon climate. This is necessary for the preservation of peat in coal swamps.[3] During the early-mid Permian, the Central Pangean Mountains lay directly beneath the equatorial rainy belt.[2] Data from the loess deposits of the Salagou Formation in France, dating to the Permian, indicates that the upland areas of the Central Pangean Mountains were likely glaciated, despite being located at the equator.[1] Due to their immense size and orientation nearly parallel to the equator, during the Late Permian the Central Pangean Mountains created a rain shadow to the north of the range, blocking the monsoonal rains from the Southern Hemisphere, and contributed to the formation of the immense Zechstein salt deposits in Europe.[2]
References
- ^ ISSN 0016-7606.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-12-809417-4, retrieved 2021-03-15
- .