External massif

An external massif is, in the

Helvetic Zone. They differ from the crystalline nappes in that they were originally part of the European plate, while the Penninic nappes were part of the crust below various domains in the Tethys Ocean.^[1]

The external massifs are the

Central Alps

of Switzerland.

The massifs are composed of the

Ma).^[2] At some places along the Aarmassif, the Mesozoic cover is partly still lying conformally on top of the Hercynian basement rock, this Mesozoic is called the Infrahelvetic complex. The uplift that brought the massifs to the surface involved thick skinned thrusting (the style of thrusting in which the basement is itself involved) and took place in a tectonic phase beginning around 19 million years ago.^[2]

References

^ Schmid et al. (2004)
^ ^a ^b Pfiffner (2009)

Pfiffner, O.A.; 2009: Geologie der Alpen, Haupt Verlag, Berne,
ISBN 978-3-8252-8416-9
.

Schmid, S.M.; Fügenschuh, B.; Kissling, E. & Schuster, R.; 2004: Tectonic map and overall architecture of the Alpine orogen, Eclogae Geologicae Helveticae 97, pp 93–117.

[1] Schmid et al. (2004)

[Pfiffner-2] Pfiffner (2009)

[1]

[2]