Cimmerian Orogeny

Cimmeria collided with North and South China blocks, closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean between them and forming mountains. ~100 mya map

The Cimmerian Orogeny, is an orogeny that created mountain ranges that now lie in Central Asia. The orogeny is believed to have begun 200 - 150 million years ago (much of the Jurassic Period), when the Cimmerian plate collided with the southern coast of Kazakhstania and North and South China, closing the ancient Paleo-Tethys Ocean between them. The plate consisted of what are now known as Turkey, Iran, Tibet and western Southeast Asia. Much of the plate's northern boundary formed mountain ranges that were as high as the present-day Himalayas. The orogeny continued well into the Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic.

See also

• Hercynian orogeny - an orogeny that preceded the Cimmerian orogeny
• Alpine orogeny - an orogeny that succeeded the Cimmerian orogeny
• Cimmerian Plate
• Cimmeria (continent)