Il paesaggio geologico dei gessi triassici

This paper presents a virtual excursion “inside” the landscape of the Triassic Gypsum Formation and the upperSecchia Valley. It proposes an aerial view that, through different viewpoints, allows the observer to recogniseelements of the landscape that are difficult to see from the ground, such as the long faults shapingthe steep slopes and the largest landslides of the Emilia-Romagna Apennines. The broad bed of the Secchiariver flows in a straight course for 5.5 kilometres between towering rock-faces of white, pink and lightgray gypsum, rising up 200 metres in some point. Triassic Gypsum contains a number of different lithologies:gypsum, anhydrites, dolomite and quartzite, which form a distorted rock structure with fragments of layersthat present ruptures and folding. They were deposited during the Upper Triassic (215-200 million years ago)and therefore are the oldest rock outcrops in the Emilia-Romagna Apennines. The linear shape of the mainversants is interrupted by lateral valleys drawn by the tectonics, such as the Sologno and The Dorgola valleys.These numerous morphological features make this landscape unique within the Apennines. The steepgradients, coupled with instability brought about by karstic phenomena, make this a suggestive but highlyinhospitable area.