Dolomites
Type Natural Heritage
Protection scope
- architectural and landscape
Type
- Naturalistic asset
Title
- Dolomites
Description
- The Dolomites site is a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps, consisting of 18 peaks that exceed 3,000 meters in altitude and extending over an area of 141,903 hectares. It features some of the most striking mountain landscapes in the world, characterized by vertical walls, spires, pinnacles, and rock faces. The site also includes glacial landforms and karstic systems. The property also represents one of the best examples of the preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil evidence. Since 2009, it has been part of the UNESCO heritage.
Eon (Eonothem)
- Phanerozoic
Lithological type
- Dolomite
Petrographic name (IUGS)
- Dolomite
Commercial name
- Dolomites
Main minerals
- Apatite, barite, calcite, celestine, diopside, fluorite, forsterite, gypsum, magnesite, magnetite, quartz, serpentine, siderite, talc, tremolite and wollastonite
Palaeontological content
- Dinosaur footprints and remains; Bletterbach Gorge (Bletterbach River) primitive reptiles; Marine vertebrates (Agordino area); Invertebrates and Ammonites
Relative age
- 250 million years
Biozone
- Montane level; subalpine; alpine; nival