Taking a new global approach this unique book provides an updated review of the geology of
Iberia and its continental margins from a geodynamic perspective. Owing to its location close
to successive plate margins Iberia has played a pivotal role in the geodynamic evolution of
the Gondwanan Rheic Pangea Tethys s.l. and Eurasian plates over the last 600 Ma of Earth's
history. The geological record starts with the amalgamation of Gondwana in the Neoproterozoic
succeeded by the rifting and spreading of the Rheic ocean its demise which led to the
amalgamation of Pangea in the late Paleozoic the rifting and spreading of several arms of the
Neotethys ocean in the Mesozoic Era and their ongoing closure which was responsible for the
Alpine orogeny. The significant advances in the last 20 years have attracted international
research interest in the geology of the Iberian Peninsula. This volume presents the most
comprehensive and updated description of the Alpine cycle in Iberia. This volume focuses in
the different geological events during the Alpine orogeny as well as the lithological
succession . This book is of interest not only for scientists of Portugal and Spain but also
for geoscientists searching for analogies for oil and gas as well as tourists visiting the main
mountain ridges of Iberia such as the Pyrenees.
