epeirogeny, in geology, broad regional upwarp of the cratonic (stable interior) portions of continents. In contrast to orogeny (q.v.), epeirogeny takes place over broad, nonlinear areas, is relatively slow, and results in only mild deformation. Phenomena accompanying epeirogeny include the development of regional disconformities that gently bevel underlying strata and the formation of regressive deposits if marine incursions have taken place. Igneous intrusion and regional metamorphism rarely, if ever, are associated with epeirogeny. The causes of epeirogeny are not well known but may include large-scale adjustments of the continental crust to phase transitions in the Earth’s mantle.
Some geologists believe that large-scale cycles of epeirogeny that affect entire cratonic plates can be recognized. Strata deposited in the intervals between such cycles in North America have been called sequences and have been given formal names. The most widely recognized of these are the Sauk Sequence (Late Precambrian to mid-Ordovician; about 650 to 460 million years ago), the Tippecanoe Sequence (mid-Ordovician to Early Devonian; about 460 to 400 million years ago), the Kaskaskia Sequence (Early Devonian to mid-Carboniferous; about 408 to 320 million years ago), and the Absaroka Sequence (Late Carboniferous to mid-Jurassic; about 320 to 176 million years ago).