and Cenozoic Orogenies and Emplacement of Granitic Stocks Three significant mountain building events created much of the Western Cordillera during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. The Nevadan, Sevier and Laramide orogenies each had unique impacts on the continental margin, inland crustal deformation and mineral deposition in Utah. In the Mid to Late Jurassic period the western edge of North America was a subduction zone with a continental volcanic arc similar to the modern Andes. Previous microcontinent