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Geology Of Italy
The geology of Italy includes mountain ranges such as the Alps and the Apennines formed from the uplift of igneous and primarily marine sedimentary rocks all formed since the Paleozoic. Some active volcanoes are located in Insular Italy. Geologic history, stratigraphy, and tectonics Paleozoic (541-251 million years ago) The oldest rocks in Italy may include oceanic crust subducted during the Caledonian orogeny and 440 million year old Ordovician granites. Only detrital zircons in the Alps dates to the Precambrian. These granites are located offshore of Venice, found in the Agip Assunta well and deformed, transforming into orthogneiss during the Hercynian orogeny. Overall, Italian Paleozoic rocks commonly show evidence of the Hercynian orogeny in the Alps, Sardinia, the Apuan Alps of Tuscany, and the Peloritani mountains of Sicily and Calabria. The Hercynian orogeny produced a large thrust belt, thickened the crust and led to polyphaser metamorphism yielding rocks such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures and pressures than schist. Gneiss nearly always shows a banded texture characterized by alternating darker and lighter colored bands and without a distinct cleavage. Gneisses are common in the ancient crust of continental shields. Some of the oldest rocks on Earth are gneisses, such as the Acasta Gneiss. Description Orthogneiss from the Czech Republic In traditional English and North American usage, a gneiss is a coarse-grained metamorphic rock showing compositional banding (gneissic banding) but poorly developed schistosity and indistinct cleavage. In other words, it is a metamorphic rock composed of mineral grains easily seen with the unaided eye, which form obvious compositional layers, but which has only a weak tendency to fracture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferous'' means "coal-bearing", from the Latin '' carbō'' ("coal") and '' ferō'' ("bear, carry"), and refers to the many coal beds formed globally during that time. The first of the modern 'system' names, it was coined by geologists William Conybeare and William Phillips in 1822, based on a study of the British rock succession. The Carboniferous is often treated in North America as two geological periods, the earlier Mississippian and the later Pennsylvanian. Terrestrial animal life was well established by the Carboniferous Period. Tetrapods (four limbed vertebrates), which had originated from lobe-finned fish during the preceding Devonian, became pentadactylous in and diversified during the Carboniferous, including early amphibian line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gallura
Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude north and 09°29'11"76 east longitude. It is 187 kilometers from the Italian peninsula and 11 kilometers from the French island of Corsica. The coast of Gallura is very jagged and continues along in a continuous series of small fiords, rock-cliffs and little islands that form the archipelago of La Maddalena, a natural bridge towards nearby Corsica. The landscape is characterised by granite rocks and harsh mountains that, even if not particularly high, have constituted for millennia a barrier between this region and the nearby territories of Baronie and Montalbo. Monte Limbara is the highest mountain (1,362 m/4,469 ft). It represents the boundary between Gallura and the nearby region called Logudoro. Its highest peak is Punta Balestri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbagia
Barbagia (; sc, Barbàgia or ) is a geographical region, geographical, cultural region, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif. The name comes from Cicero, who described the land as inhabited by barbarians; Roman domination over this part of the island was in fact never more than nominal as a result of the Roman-Sardinian Wars. This word shares its etymology with the now antiquated ''Barbary''. The Sardinians, many of whose revolts came from this area, were also mocked by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans with the pejorative term 'thieves wearing rough woolen garments'. In 594, Pope Gregory the Great wrote a letter to Hospito, a Christian whom he calls the "leader of the Barbaricini" (). Hospito apparently permitted the evangelisation of pagan Barbagia by Christian missionaries. The area is usually divided into five Barbagias: the Barbagia of Ollolai, the Bar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cima D'Asta
Cima d’Asta at is the highest mountain of the Fiemme Mountains in the eastern part of the Italian province of Trentino. It is situated in Pieve Tesino, between the Vanoi valley to the north and the Tesino valley to the south and is 18 km north-east of the town of Borgo Valsugana. It is over 21 km away from the nearest higher summit, the Cimon della Pala Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites (''il Cervino delle Dolomiti''), is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy. Although it is not the highest peak of the .... Just south of the summit is a mountain lake at 2460 m, the ''Lago di Cima d’Asta'', from which the river ''Grigno'' originates. It is unclear when the first ascent was made. On his ascent in 1882, Gustav Euringer did not find evidence of earlier visits, but was aware that the summit had been a triangulation point since 1816 and assumed it had been reached at or b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brixen
Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and cultural capital of the valley. It is located at the confluence of the Eisack and Rienz rivers, north of Bolzano and south of the Brenner Pass, on the Italy-Austrian border. It is flanked on the eastern side by the Plose and Telegraph (Monte Telegrafo) mountains (2,504 m) and on the western side by the Königsanger (Monte Pascolo) (2,436 m) mountain. Brixen is especially known as a major skiing resort (the Plose). Other activities include hydroelectric power, orchards, and vineyards. ''Frazioni'' ''Frazioni'' / incorporated villages: Afers (Eores), Albeins (Albes), Elvas, Gereuth, Karnol, Klerant (Cleran), Kranebitt (Costa d'Elvas), Mahr (La Mara), Mairdorf, Mellaun (Meluno), Milland, Pairdorf (Perara), Pinzagen (Pinzago), Plabach, Rutz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern Alps" generally refers to the entire range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it. The range includes the South Island's Main Divide, which separates the water catchments of the more heavily populated eastern side of the island from those on the west coast. Politically, the Main Divide forms the boundary between the Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago regions to the southeast and the Tasman and West Coast regions to the northwest. Names The Māori name of the range is , meaning "the Mirage of the Ocean". The English explorer James Cook bestowed the name ''Southern Alps'' on 23 March 1770, admiring their "prodigious height". p. 384. They had previously been noted by Abel Tasman in 1642, whose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monte Rosa
: , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Monte Rosa massif, with Dufourspitze to the south (right) and Nordend to the north (left), the Monte Rosa Glacier right below on its western wing, the upper Gorner Glacier on the left, and the Grenzgletscher to the right , country_type = Countries , country = , subdivision1_type = Canton, Regions , subdivision1 = , parent = Pennine Alps, Western Alps , listing = Country high point Canton high pointUltra , length_km = , length_orientation= , width_km = , width_orientation = , geology = , orogeny = , highest = Dufourspitze , elevation_m = 4634 , range_coordinates = , coordinates = , map = Switzerland , map_ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it is the eleventh most prominent mountain summit in the world. It gives its name to the Mont Blanc massif which straddles parts of France, Italy and Switzerland. Mont Blanc's summit lies on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy, and the valleys of Montjoie, and Arve in France. Ownership of the summit area has long been a subject of dispute between France and Italy. The Mont Blanc massif is popular for outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, trail running and winter sports like skiing, and snowboarding. The most popular climbing route to the summit of Mont Blanc is the Goûter Route, which typically takes two days. The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are Courmayeur in Aosta Valle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andalusite
Andalusite is an aluminium nesosilicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5. This mineral was called andalousite by Delamétehrie, who thought it came from Andalusia, Spain. It soon became clear that it was a locality error, and that the specimens studied were actually from El Cardoso de la Sierra, in the Spanish province of Guadalajara, not Andalusia. Andalusite is trimorphic with kyanite and sillimanite, being the lower pressure mid temperature polymorph. At higher temperatures and pressures, andalusite may convert to sillimanite. Thus, as with its other polymorphs, andalusite is an aluminosilicate index mineral, providing clues to depth and pressures involved in producing the host rock. Varieties The variety chiastolite commonly contains dark inclusions of carbon or clay which form a cruciform pattern when shown in cross-section. This stone was known at least from the sixteenth century, being taken to many European countries, as a souvenir, by pilgrims returning from Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyanite
Kyanite is a typically blue aluminosilicate mineral, found in aluminium-rich metamorphic pegmatites and sedimentary rock. It is the high pressure polymorph of andalusite and sillimanite, and the presence of kyanite in metamorphic rocks generally indicates metamorphism deep in the Earth's crust. Kyanite is also known as disthene or cyanite. Kyanite is strongly anisotropic, in that its hardness varies depending on its crystallographic direction. In kyanite, this anisotropism can be considered an identifying characteristic, along with its characteristic blue color. Its name comes from the same origin as that of the color cyan, being derived from the Ancient Greek word κύανος. This is generally rendered into English as ''kyanos'' or ''kuanos'' and means "dark blue". Kyanite is used as a raw material in the manufacture of ceramics and abrasives, and it is an important index mineral used by geologists to trace metamorphic zones. Properties Kyanite is an aluminum silicate mine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
