At the beginning of the Mesozoic the formations making up the base of Hungary were located elsewhere. Most of them were in the periphery of the western tip of the Tethys Ocean. Some of them belong to the European, others to the African plate. At that time, these two continents were still part of the Pangea supercontinent, which was in the initial state of breaking apart.
In the Middle Jurassic, 180 mya, the opening of the Atlantic Ocean which is still widening, has begun. The birth of the Penninic Ocean within the Tethys has torn away the Tisza and the Pelso mega units. In the middle Cretaceous, the uplift of the Alps and Carpathians began. In the Tertiary, the ALCAPA tectonic block has been formed of the mega units of the Austroalpine, Carpathian and Pelso plates. This joined with the Tisza-Dacia tectonic block and took its present position at the beginning of the Miocene (approx. 23 mya). Here, a part of the Paratethys Sea formed the later Lake Pannon, in the place of which, eventually the Carpathian Basin took shape. If you wanted to know about this latter in greater detail, do not forget to visit the “On trails of primitive forests…” exhibition!