Cantabria is a large island that existed in the area of Europe in the Mesozoic era. In later continental drift and orogeny it became most of Spain and Portugal. World map showing Europe Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... The Mesozoic is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... Portrayal of shifting continents The concept of continental drift was first proposed by Alfred Wegener. ... Orogeny is the process of mountain building, and as such is both a tectonic structural event, a geographical event and a chronological event, in that orogenic events happen within a time frame, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity. ...