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Which modern regions were crossed by the Caledonian mountain chain?
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Devonian Period
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins during the early Devonian Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
The Caledonian mountain chain, which formed through the collision of continental blocks during the Paleozoic Era, spans a vast region across modern-day geography. Its remnants extend in a southwest-northeast direction, crossing the following areas:
- British Isles: The belt traverses Ireland, Wales, northern England, and Scotland.12
- North America: The belt includes parts of New England, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.3
- Northern Regions: The chain extends through eastern Greenland, Scandinavia (specifically Norway), and Spitsbergen.13
During the Devonian Period, these mountains were undergoing active uplift, and the erosion of this belt produced the clastic material that formed the Old Red Sandstone deposits found across these regions.132