From the geotectonic point of view, the territory of Montenegro, together with all the other parts of the Balkan Peninsula and most of the Mediterranean Region, belongs to the Alpine belt (Alpides), also referred to as Neo-Europe. It emerged from the late Paleozoic-Mesozoic-Tertiary ocean of Tethys, predominantly during Cretaceous-Cenozoic orogenic events, mainly those of Alpidic/Apine orogeny.

 

The mountain range known as the Dinarides, constituting the southeast continuation of the Alps and extending longitudinally along the Adriatic coast, covers the whole Montenegro’s territory. The Dinarides in Montenegro belong to two major geomorphological units: the Inner and the Outer Dinarides. The boundary between the two units in Montenegro runs along the line between Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, through Kolašin and Skadar/Shkodra to Elbasan in Albania. The Inner Dinarides, composed predominantly of Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestones covered by Neogene lacustrine deposits, flysch, and ophiolites, are located in northern Montenegro.

 

Figure 1. Geomorphological regionalization of the Dinarides mountain range

 

References

 

Pešić V, Grabowski M, Hadžiablahović S, Marić D, Paunović M (2020) The biodiversity and biogeographical characteristics of the River basins of Montenegro. In: Pešić V, Paunović M, Kostianoy A (eds) The rivers of Montenegro. The handbook of environmental chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2019_414