Mount Amiata is the largest of the lava domes in the Amiata lava dome complex located about 20 km northwest of

Lake Bolsena Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic ...

in the southern

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

region of Italy. It is located within the provinces of

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

and

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

Geology

Mount Amiata (La Vetta) is a compound lava dome with a

trachytic Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and ...

lava flow that extends to the east. It is part of the larger Amiata complex volcano. A massive viscous trachydacitic lava flow, 5 km long and 4 km wide, is part of the basal complex and extends from beneath the southern base of Corno de Bellaria dome. Radiometric dates indicate that the Amiata complex had a major eruptive episode about 300,000 years ago. No eruptive activity has occurred at Amiata during the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

, but thermal activity including

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

mineralization continues at a geothermal field near the town of Bagnore, at the SW end of the dome complex.

Economy

The main economical resources of the Amiata region are chestnuts, timber and, increasingly,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

(ski resorts include the peak area, Prato delle Macinaie, Prato della Contessa, Rifugio Cantore and Pian della Marsiliana). The lower areas are characterized by

olive trees The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

and

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s. Other vegetation include beech and fir. From the 1870s until around 1980

was extracted here. The region is included in the comuni of

Abbadia San Salvatore Abbadia San Salvatore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena, in the area of Monte Amiata. The town is named after the Abbey of th ...

Arcidosso Arcidosso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about northeast of Grosseto and near the town of Montalcino. History The first certain documentation of ...

, Castel del Piano,

Piancastagnaio Piancastagnaio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. It is located on the Monte Amiata slopes. The main attractions include th ...

, Santa Fiora and

Seggiano Seggiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about northeast of Grosseto. The center is situated on the foothills of the north-western hills of Monte Am ...

, all located between 600 and 800 metres of altitude.

References

External links

Monte Amiata museum of mercury mines

Museum of Mines of Mercury Monte Amiata at Google Cultural Institute
Mountains of Tuscany Volcanoes of Italy Mercury mining Pleistocene lava domes {{Tuscany-geo-stub

Geology

Economy

See also

References

External links