Plate kinematics and distribution of deformation across the west Mediterranean. (a) North-south component of Iberia-Europe and Africa-Europe plate movement vectors from Rosenbaum et al. (2002a, b), Macchiavelli et al. (2017) and Torsvik et al. (2008). The vertical scale is the same time scale as in b. (b) Chronology of major tectonic events and evolution of orogenic relief around the western Mediterranean using the International Stratigraphic Chart (2013), IUGS. Data supporting the tectonic stages and relief of the Pyrenees and in the transition zone (Provence, Fig. 1) between the Pyrenees and Alps are presented in this paper. For the Alps see Le Breton et al. (2020) and references therein; for the Apennines see Marroni et al. (1992), Molli (2008) and Conti et al. (2020); for the Betics see Vergés and Fernàndez (2012).