ABSTRACT
The separation of the Peloponnese from the mainland and its upheaval to its present altitudes can be shown to be geologically recent from the strong resemblances in structure and relief between the mountains of the Peloponnese and those of central Greece both east and west of the Isthmus (of Corinth). At the end of the Pliocene (about two million years ago) much of the peninsula was still covered by a shallow sea or lakes, while the remainder consisted of subdued mountains or hills. When the crust eventually began to break irregularly, the bottoms of new gulfs sank as bordering land was thrust up. This new land around the margins (‘Neogen’) was composed of clays, marls, sands and conglomerates, the old inland region being made up mainly of limestone.
