What is Alpine orogeny?
[[File:Tectonic map Mediterranean EN.svg|thumb|right|400px|Tectonic map of southern Europe and the Middle East, showing tectonic structures of the western [[Alpide belt|Alpide mountain belt]]]] The '''Alpine [[orogeny]]''' (sometimes '''Alpide orogeny''') is the building of [[mountain range]]s in central and southern [[Europe]] and [[west Asia]]. This mountain-building phase started in the later [[Mesozoic]] era.<ref>Moores E.M. & Fairbridge7 R.W. (Editors), 1998: ''Encyclopedia of European and Asian Regional Geology.'' Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, London.</ref> It happened as the two large continents [[Africa]] and [[India]] (plus a smaller plates) moved north and collided with [[Eurasia]]. This happened at the end of the [[Mesozoic]] [[era]], and is slowly continuing today. So this slow collision sqeezed the Eurasian plates, and caused mountains to build from the western edge far into Asia. These are the mountain ranges of the [[Alpide belt]]. They include (from west to east) the [[Atlas Mountains|Atlas]], the [[Rif]], the [[Baetic Cordillera]], the [[Cantabrian Mountains]], the [[Pyrenees]], the [[Alps]],<ref>Pfiffner O.A. 2009. Geologie der Alpen (in German). Bern/Stuttgart/Wien: Haupt Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3-8252-8416-9}}</ref><ref>Stampfli GM; Borel GD; Marchant R.; Mosar J. 2002. Rosenbaum G. and Lister G.S. eds. Reconstruction of the evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan orogeny. ''Journal of the Virtual Explorer''. [https://www.virtualexplorer.com.au/journal/2002/08] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602105115/https://virtualexplorer.com.au/journal/2002/08|date=2018-06-02}}</ref> the [[Apennine Mountains]], the [[Dinaric Alps]], the [[Pindus|Hellenides]], the [[Carpathian Mountains]], the [[Balkan Mountains]], the [[Taurus Mountains|Taurus]], the [[Armenian Highlands]], the [[Caucasus Mountains|Caucasus]], the [[Alborz]], the [[Zagros Mountains|Zagros]], the [[Hindu Kush]], the [[Pamir Mountains|Pamir]], the [[Karakoram]], and the [[Himalayas]]. The Alpine orogeny also led to more d