The Uralian orogeny refers to the long series of geological events that raised
the Ural Mountains, starting in the Late Carboniferous and Permian periods
of the Palaeozoic Era, ca. 318-299 and 299-251 Mya, and ending with the last
series of continental collisions in Triassic to early Jurassic times. The
Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 245 to 202 Ma (million
years ago). As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows
the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the
Triassic are marked by major extinction events. The characteristic sediments
of the Triassic are red sandstones and evaporites, which suggest a warm dry
climate.
In terms of plate tectonics and continental drift, the Uralian orogeny resulted
from a southwestern movement of the Siberian Plate, catching a smaller landmass,
Kazakhstania, between it and the nearly completely assembled supercontinent,
Pangaea.
The Urals and as the Riphean Mountains in Greco-Roman antiquity, is a mountain
range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. The Urals
extend 2500 km from the Kazakh steppes along the northern border of Kazakhstan
to the coast of the Arctic ocean. The island of Novaya Zemlya forms a further
continuation of the chain. Geographically this range marks the northern part
of the (arbitrary) border between Asian and European sections of the Eurasian
continent.
The Urals are among the world's oldest extant mountain ranges. They were
formed in the late Carboniferous period, when a continent consisting largely
of Siberia collided with the supercontinent that contained much of the world's
land at the time: the combination of Laurasia (Europe and North America) and
Gondwana. Europe and Siberia have remained joined together ever since.
The Urals have large deposits of gold and platinum.