Regional geology of the World 1300-OGRSW

The lecture is aimed as a systematic presentation of the structure and evolution of the continents and oceans. The introductory part contains a review of the historical development of the geotectonic concepts and theories; also contained are basic terms and models of the modern regional geology, as well as geometry and anatomy of the fold belts, the structure of the cratons, archaic evolution of the earth crust, and the supercontinent question. The structure and evolution of all continents, presented against a background of the evolution of the respective lithospheric plate, is contained in the systematic part. This part is focused on the northern continents (Europe, North America and Asia). The basic structure, including all geotectonically spectacular examples of the southern 'Gondwanan continents', to show their structural and evolutionary uniformity, are presented.