Remains of an orogenic belt formed during the Silurian–Devonian period
Location of the different branches of the Caledonian/Acadian belts at the end of the Caledonian orogeny (Early Devonian).[1][2][3][4][5] Present day coastlines are indicated in gray for reference. Note, that the North-German–Polish Caledonides were not formed during the Scandian orogeny but during the "soft docking" of East Avalonia to Baltica at about 443 Ma.[1][6][7] The Acadian orogeny resulted from the prolonged collision of the "peri-Gondwananterranes" with the Laurentian autochthon.[1] Later in geological history, the North Atlantic Ocean opened[8][9][10] and the different parts of the orogenic belt moved apart. See also Iapetus Suture and Trans-European Suture Zone.
The Scandinavian Caledonides are the vestiges of an ancient, today deeply eroded orogenic belt formed during the Silurian–Devoniancontinental collision of Baltica and Laurentia, which is referred to as the Scandian phase of the Caledonian orogeny.[11] The size of the Scandinavian Caledonides at the time of their formation can be compared with the size of the Himalayas.[12] The area east of the Scandinavian Caledonides, including parts of Finland, developed into a foreland basin where old rocks and surfaces were covered by sediments.[13] Today, the Scandinavian Caledonides underlay most of the western and northern Scandinavian Peninsula,[14][15] whereas other parts of the Caledonides can be traced into West and Central Europe as well as parts of Greenland[16] and eastern North America.
^Torsvik, Trond; Smethurst, M.; Meert, J.; Van der Voo, Rob; McKerrow, W.; Brasier, M.; Sturt, Brian A.; Walderhaug, H. (1996). "Continental break-up and collision in the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic — A tale of Baltica and Laurentia". Earth-Science Reviews. 40 (3–4): 229–258. Bibcode:1996ESRv...40..229T. doi:10.1016/0012-8252(96)00008-6. ISSN0012-8252.
^Mosar, Jon; Eide, Elizabeth A.; Osmundsen, Per Terje; Sommaruga, Anna; Torsvik, Trond H. (2002). "Greenland-Norway separation: A geodynamic model for the North Atlantic". Norwegian Journal of Geology. 82: 281–298.
^Murrell, G.R.; Andriessen, P.A.M. (2004). "Unravelling a long-term multi-event thermal record in the cratonic interior of southern Finland through apatite fission track thermochronology". Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C. 29 (10): 695–706. Bibcode:2004PCE....29..695M. doi:10.1016/j.pce.2004.03.007.