The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest

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 ...

of the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...

, with about 240 km² of surface, located between eastern

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

and

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

(

province of Belluno The Province of Belluno ( it, Provincia di Belluno; de-AT, Provinz Belluno; lld, Provinzia de Belum) is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno. It has an area of and a total population of about 205,000. ...

), in the area between

Primiero The Primiero (''Primier'' in local dialect) is a valley located in the eastern part of Trentino, Italy. It consists of eight municipalities ('): Canal San Bovo, Fiera di Primiero, Imèr, Mezzano, Sagron Mis, Siròr, Tonadico and Transacqua. ...

(valleys of

Cismon The Cismon is a mountain stream (or torrent) in northern Italy, the main tributary of the Brenta River. The torrent flows from the Dolomites mountains in the Trentino Alto-Adige region through the plains of Venetian territory to the bigger Brenta ...

, Canali, Travignolo), Valle del Biois (

Falcade Falcade (Ladin: ''Falciade'', German: ''Pfalden'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Belluno. Falcade borders the following munic ...

Canale d'Agordo Canale d'Agordo (known as Forno di Canale until 1964; Ladin: ''Canal'', German: ''Augartnerkanal'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Belluno, in the region of Veneto, northern Italy. It has 1,230 inhabitants. Pope John Paul I (born Albi ...

) and Agordino. In the central sector of the group, discovered by the Marquis

Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu Dieudonné Sylvain Guy Tancrède de Gratet de Dolomieu usually known as Déodat de Dolomieu (; 23 June 175028 November 1801) was a French geologist. The mineral and the rock Dolomite (rock), dolomite and the largest summital crater on the Piton d ...

in 1788, consisting of

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

, a

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

formed by double calcium carbonate and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

, extends the plateau, on an area of about 50 km², forming a huge empty space, rocky and almost lunar that fluctuates between 2500 and 2800 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The part of the group extended in Trentino is entirely included in the Paneveggio — Pale di San Martino Nature Park. According to some sources, the group inspired the Belluno writer

Dino Buzzati Dino Buzzati-Traverso (; 14 October 1906 – 28 January 1972) was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet, as well as a journalist for '' Corriere della Sera''. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel ''The Tartar St ...

(a great lover of the chain) in the setting of his novel "

The Tartar Steppe ''The Tartar Steppe'' ( it, Il deserto dei Tartari, ), also published as ''The Stronghold'' (''La fortezza''), is a novel by Italian author Dino Buzzati, published in 1940. The novel tells the story of a young officer, Giovanni Drogo, and his li ...

". Due to the exceptional universal value of this natural beauty, the geological system of the Pale is included in the site "The Dolomites", declared in 2009 a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Main peaks

Vezzana {{Infobox mountain , name = Cima di Vezzana , photo = Vezzana from Rolle.JPG , photo_caption= The Vezzana from the Rolle Pass , elevation_m = 3192 , elevation_ref = , prominence = 1,273m , prominence_ref = , listing = Alpine mountains a ...

, 3,192 m *

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 ...

, 3,184 m *

Cima dei Bureloni Cima may refer to: Acronyms *The Center for International Media Assistance, a media development organization in Washington, DC *Centre International de la Mécanique d'Art (International centre for Art Mechanics), a museum in Switzerland * Channel ...

, 3,130 m *

Cima di Focobon Cima may refer to: Acronyms *The Center for International Media Assistance, a media development organization in Washington, DC *Centre International de la Mécanique d'Art (International centre for Art Mechanics), a museum in Switzerland * Channel ...

, 3,054 m *Pala di San Martino, 2,982 m * Fradusta, 2,939 m *Mulaz, 2,906 m *

Monte Agnèr Monte Agnèr (2,872 m) is a mountain of the Dolomites located near the village of Taibon Agordino in Belluno, northeast Italy. It lies in the Pala group The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest massif of the Dolomites, w ...

2,872 m *Sass Màor, 2,812 m *Cima Madonna, 2,752 m *Rosetta, 2,743 m

References

External links

Rifugio Pradidali, (english pages available here)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pala Group Mountain ranges of Trentino Mountain ranges of the Alps Dolomites