Trans-European Suture Zone

The Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ), also known as the Tornquist Zone, is the crustal boundary between the Precambrian East European Craton and the Phanerozoic orogens of South-Western Europe. The zone runs from the North Sea to the Black Sea. The north-western part of the zone was created by the collision of Avalonia and Baltica/East European Craton in the Late Ordovician. The south-eastern part of the zone, now largely concealed by deep sedimentary basins, developed through Variscan and Alpine orogenic events.

Various branches of the TESZ go under different names:

• The Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone (TTZ) in Ukraine and Poland.
• The Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone (STZ) through Scania (Sweden), Kattegat, and North Jutland (Denmark).
• The Trans-European Fault (TEF), Thor-Tornquist Suture or Thor Suture through southern Denmark.

The latter two branches (STZ and TEF) span a triangular area of numerous faults, called the Tornquist Fan.