Gennargentu (; sc, Ghennarghentu ) is a large

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

in central-southern

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, encompassing the provinces of

Nuoro Nuoro ( or less correctly ; sc, Nùgoro ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of the Monte Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), ...

and

Ogliastra The province of Ogliastra ( it, provincia dell'Ogliastra , sc, provìntzia de s'Ogiastra) was a former province in eastern Sardinia, Italy. Ogliastra was the most mountainous province in Sardinia. With only some 57,642 inhabitants, it was also ...

. It includes the highest peaks on the island, such as

Punta La Marmora Punta La Marmora ( sc, Perdas Carpìas) is a mountain in the Gennargentu range, Sardinia ( Italy). Geography The mountain belongs to Ogliastra and Nuoro provinces, in the Barbagia mountain area of inner Sardinia. With its summit at an ele ...

(), Monte Spada (), Punta Erbas Virdes (), Bruncu Spina () and Punta Paulinu (). The range forms part of the Gennargentu National Park. Geologically, its rocks are amongst the oldest in Europe, and are therefore smooth shaped: rock types include

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

Toponymy

The etymology of the name is not attested: it could mean "Silver Door" ( sc, jenna (d)e arghentu, links=no), "Door of the Winds" () or "Door of Absinthium" ().

Ski resorts

The mountains are home to the only ski resort on the island: Bruncu Spina ski area

References

Mountain ranges of Italy Mountains of Sardinia Ski areas and resorts in Italy {{Sardinia-geo-stub

Toponymy

Ski resorts

See also

References