Palaeomagnetic evidence for late Miocene rotation of the Swiss Alps: results from the north Alpine foreland basin

Magnetostratigraphic studies in the Oligocene to Miocene north Alpine foreland basin of Switzerland suggest a post‐middle Miocene (< 13 Ma) clockwise rotation of the Swiss Alps. The angle of rotation is 16–17° with respect to the present‐day earth's magnetic field. This rotation can be observed in 12 sections analysed for palaeomagnetic directions which cover a lateral distance of ≈ 250 km (SW–NE extension). The rotation angle shows neither a significant change throughout the examined period of deposition, nor is it dependent on the tectonic position of the individual regions in the basin (autochthonous or allochthonous Molasse).