orogenous zone

By analogy to erogenous zone.

orogenous zone (plural orogenous zones)

1. (geology, often humorous, by analogy to erogenous zone) A region characterized by mountain-building.

   Orogenous zones are usually found along plate boundaries.

   The villagers were astonished to learn that they were living in an orogenous zone.

   • 1960, M. Palmer, editor, World Petroleum, volume 31, page 65:

     ...an orogenous zone separates a deep subsiding western zone, over 3,000 meters deep, from a more stable eastern zone rising gently to the east.

   • 1968, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, volumes 11-14, page vi:

     The El Dorado-Searchlight area is geologically a north-south trending orogenous zone, paralleled on the east by the valley of the Colorado, and by an alluvial valley on the west.

   • 1976, “Geomorphology and Paleogeography”, in Proceedings of the International Geographical Union, page 78:

     Structures due to strata compaction have been identified in the orogenous zone of North-Dobrogea (Independenta), in the Moesic Platform and in the Pannonian Depression (Teremia).

   • 2001, Jeff Rovin, Fatalis: a Novel, Macmillan, page 28:

     Grand knew the mountains well, he respected their moods, and above all he enjoyed the challenge of what Tumamait — when he still had a sense of humor — once referred to as "one of the earth's most seductive and temperamental orogenous zones."

   • 2008, Gregory S. Babonis, “et al.”, in Using Multi-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar to Develop Regional-Scale Groundwater Maps, University of Michigan, page 9:

     The NHLR lies within the Northern Highlands region—a relict orogenous zone that has been glacially eroded to form a highland plateau region spanning from Michigan to Minnesota.

• orogeny