Valais Ocean
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| Geology of the Alps |
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The Valais Ocean is a subducted
Briançonnais microcontinent. Remnants of the Valais ocean are found in the western Alps and in tectonic windows of the eastern Alps and are mapped as the so-called "north Penninic" nappes.[1]
Tectonic history
After the breakup of
Gulf of Biscay
, while in the eastern part the Valais Ocean was formed.
When in the
tectonic plate that had begun to move independently. This process eventually led to the formation of the Alps. To the west, no subduction took place, but the Iberian plate moved against the European plate along a large transform fault, which led to the formation of the Pyrenees
.
Fragments of Valais oceanic crust have been
Penninic nappes
of the Alps.
Name
The Valais Ocean was named after the Swiss canton Valais.
Occurrences
In the eastern
Tauern window the "Obere Schieferhülle"; at the northern margin of the Alps the remnants are called Rhenodanubic flysch.[1]
In the western Alps, remnants of the Valais crop out in many areas of Switzerland and France. This includes the Cheval noir unit, the Versoyen unit, the Sion-Courmayeur Zone, the Niesen nappe, the Schlieren flysch, the Antrona unit, the Wägital flysch and the Prätigau Bündnerschiefer.[2]
See also
References
- ^ S2CID 22393862.
- ^ Bousquet, Romain. "Metamorphic structure of the Alps - Revised version". Retrieved 23 February 2013.