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Geologic Ages

Topics covered in this section:

Introduction

Let's take a giant leap backward through time to set the context of Romania's history. Before you cry "Foul!" let me explain why we're dipping into the geologic past. This section isn't specifically Romanian history, but it does set the stage for that history. We step way back to get the most general picture possible.

We'll very quickly cover the geologic ages in this section and then move on to the archaeological ages where we cover the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. After all, these periods cover the timeframe when people first set foot in the territory within the current boundaries of Romania.

In the current section we present a global overview of the standard geologic ages. These ages apply to the entire planet, not to Romania specifically. However, as we mentioned above, they do provide a context in which we can talk about prehistoric Romania later.

Since the geologic ages are not our primary historic focus, however, we will be very brief in our overview ... just enough to give you a taste of what's happening in each era.

Tectonic Movement

Over a period of millions of years, the interplay between the Earth's tectonic plates shoved and jostled entire continents one against another, creating a series of mountain ranges in the Mediterranean region along the geological frontier between Europe and Africa.

Balkan Mountain Ranges

Stretching from the Iberian peninsula in the west to the ranges of southeastern Europe in the east, the Balkan Mountains eventually linked up with the mountain chains of Asia Minor and central Asia. To their north, the great expanse of the Eurasian lowlands extends across the continent, with scarcely a break, from Calais to the Urals.

Carpathian Mountains

About 65 million years ago, the Eurasian and African tectonic plates shifted, forming among other things the Carpathian Mountains and the Transylvanian Basin. It was during this continental collision that the Earth's crust was folded, forming mountain ranges from the Himalayas to the Alps, including the Carpathians.

The mountains once formed Europe's longest volcanic chain. Today only one extinct crater remains. That crater is located north of Braşov with the volcanic lake Lacul Sf. Ana nestled inside the crater.

The geology of the Carpathians consists of three distinct layers. The outer, visible layer consists of a continuous flysch (a remarkable sequence of dark, fine-grained sandstone shales deposited in a shallow layer of marine clay). The layer below that consists of a thick crystalline band. And the interior of the mountain range consists of a volcanic ribbon.

This rich blend of rocks has given the Carpathians an abundant supply of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, valuable building stones, magnificent crystals, and delicately colored marble (mostly in the Apuseni Mountains).

Many of Romania's mountains attest to a much later period of glaciation during the Ice Age some 10,000 years ago.

Black Sea

Some 40 million years ago, the Black Sea separated from both the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. There are two distinct layers in the Black Sea with the upper layer generally cooler and less dense than the more salty lower layer. These waters circulate around the basin in what is known as the Rim Current.

Many scholars believe that the "black" in its name refers to the ancient habit of assigning colors to the compass points. Black refers to the north, red to the south, and yellow to the east. Although this theory is hotly debated, it can be noted that the Black Sea does in fact lie north of the "cradle of civilization" between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Prior to Greek colonization along the Black Sea coast, it was called the Inhospitable Sea (Pontos Axeinos). But as Milesian (Greek) colonization took hold, its name was changed to the Hospitable Sea (Euxeinos Pontos).