Variscan

Variscan refers to a late Paleozoic orogeny that formed a major mountain belt during the assembly of the supercontinent Pangea. The term derives from Variscia, a Latin name historically used for the European Variscan belt; it is often equated with the Hercynian orogeny used in older literature.

Timing and mechanism: The Variscan orogeny occurred roughly 350 to 290 million years ago, spanning the late Carboniferous to early Permian. It resulted from the collision of the southern landmass of Gondwana with the northern landmasses of Laurentia and Baltica (collectively part of Laurussia), leading to crustal shortening, thickening, magmatism, metamorphism, and uplift. This orogenic activity produced extensive magmatic and metamorphic belts and contributed to the long-lived Variscan belt that underlies much of western and central Europe.

Geography: The Variscan belt extends across western and central Europe, including the Iberian Massif (with Galicia–Trás-os-Montes), the Armorican Massif of Brittany, and the Central European Variscan belt (comprising the Bohemian Massif, Erzgebirge, Sudetes, Vosges, Black Forest, and related ranges), as well as the Massif Central in France. Post-Variscan deformation and later tectonic events shaped subsequent basins and landscapes in the region. The term is used to distinguish these events from the later Alpine orogeny.

In modern geology, Variscan remains in common use, though the term Hercynian is still encountered in regional literature. The concept is important for understanding crustal evolution, mineralization, and the geologic history of western and central Europe.