Dolomiti lucane

Last updated
Dolomiti lucane
Dolomiti Lucane - Monti della Maddalena (Potenza).PNG
Highest point
Peak Monte Caperrino
Elevation 1,455 m (4,774 ft)
Coordinates 40°31.28′N16°03.63′E / 40.52133°N 16.06050°E / 40.52133; 16.06050 Coordinates: 40°31.28′N16°03.63′E / 40.52133°N 16.06050°E / 40.52133; 16.06050
Geography
Italy relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Dolomiti lucane
Parent range Apennine Mountains
Karstic landscape of the range Dolomitilucane0002.jpg
Karstic landscape of the range

Dolomiti lucane is a mountain range in the region of Basilicata, southern Italy. Located in the Southern Apennines and dominating the Basento Valley, the range is at the heart of the Gallipoli Cognato Piccole Dolomiti Lucane Regional Park, which also include the Gallipoli-Cognato forest. The range is named "Dolomiti" because of similarities to peaks in the Dolomites in northern Italy. The range was formed 15 million years ago. [1]

Basilicata Region of Italy

Basilicata, also known by its ancient name Lucania, is a region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia (Puglia) to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It also has two coastlines: a 30-km stretch on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania and Calabria, and a longer coastline along the Gulf of Taranto between Calabria and Apulia. The region can be thought of as the "instep" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as the "toe" and Apulia the "heel". The region covers about 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) and in 2010 had a population slightly under 600,000. The regional capital is Potenza. The region is divided into two provinces: Potenza and Matera.

Italy republic in Southern Europe

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates San Marino and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe.

Basento river in Italy

The Basento is a river in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. It rises at Monte Arioso in the southern Apennine Mountains, southwest of Potenza in the province of Potenza. The river flows northeast near Pignola and Potenza before curving east near Vaglio Basilicata. It curves southeast and flows near Brindisi Montagna, Trivigno, and Albano di Lucania. A right tributary coming from Lago di Ponte Fontanelle flows into the river in this area. The river forms the border between the province of Potenza and the province of Matera for a short distance before flowing into the province of Matera. It flows eastward near Tricarico, Calciano, and Grassano before curving southeast. The river flows near Grottole, Miglionico, Pomarico, Ferrandina, and Monte Finese before curving eastward. It flows near Pisticci and Bernalda before flowing into the Gulf of Taranto, which is part of the Ionian Sea, near Metaponto. The main city on the Basento is Potenza, the capital of Basilicata.

Contents

Description

Consisting of craggy peaks and shaped by karstic erosion, the range has sharp peaks with an average elevation of 1,000–1,100 metres (3,300–3,600 ft). The highest point is Monte Caperrino, also called "Piccole Dolomiti", due to its resemblance to the Dolomite mountains near Venice and Trieste. [1]

Karst Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks

Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes. However, in regions where the dissolved bedrock is covered or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata, distinctive karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and be totally missing above ground.

Venice Comune in Veneto, Italy

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region.

Trieste Comune in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Trieste is a city and a seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city. It is also located near Croatia some further 30 kilometres (19 mi) south.

Flora and fauna

The range has a mixture of oak forest and alpine tundra. The tundra is home to unusual plants, such as red valerian, Lunaria annua , and Onosma lucana . Fauna of the range includes wild boar, red kites, swallows, kestrel, ravens, and peregrine falcons. [1]

Oak genus of plants

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 600 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus, as well as in those of unrelated species such as Grevillea robusta and the Casuarinaceae (she-oaks). The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States, while Mexico has 160 species of which 109 are endemic. The second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species.

Alpine tundra biome

Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with polar tundra.

<i>Lunaria annua</i> species of plant, native to the Balkans and south west Asia

Lunaria annua, called honesty or annual honesty in English, is a species of flowering plant native to the Balkans and south west Asia, and naturalized throughout the temperate world.

Climate

The climate of the range is due to its remoteness from the Mediterranean, hence is characteristic of the climate of the other Apennine mountains. Winters are cold, with snow on the ground up to two or three months. Summers are cool and breezy. There is about 1,000 millimetres (39 in) of rain per year.

Municipalities

Castelmezzano Comune in Basilicata, Italy

Castelmezzano is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Albano di Lucania, Anzi, Laurenzana, Pietrapertosa, Trivigno.

Pietrapertosa Comune in Basilicata, Italy

Pietrapertosa is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Accettura, Albano di Lucania, Campomaggiore, Castelmezzano, Cirigliano, Corleto Perticara, Gorgoglione and Laurenzana.

Albano di Lucania Comune in Basilicata, Italy

Albano di Lucania is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata.

Related Research Articles

Geography of Italy

Italy is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Corsica, although belonging to the Italian geographical region, has been a part of France since 1769. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere.

Dolomites mountain range in the Alps

The Dolomites are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley. The Dolomites are nearly equally shared between the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino.

Apennine Mountains mountain range stretching 1000 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. Since 2000 the Environment Ministry of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has been defining the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, for a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas.

Rocky Mountain National Park national park of the United States

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Italian Peninsula peninsula of southern Europe

The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula extends 1,000 km (620 mi) from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape, namely Calabria, Salento and Gargano.

Gran Sasso dItalia Mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy.

Gran Sasso d'Italia (Italian: [ɡran ˈsasso diˈtaːlja] is an Apennine secondary mountain massif. Its highest peak, Corno Grande, is the highest mountain in the Apennines and outside the Alps. Included in Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, is a popular touristic attraction and ski resort, used several times as filming locations.

Brenta group mountain range

The Brenta Group or Brenta Dolomites is a mountain range, and a subrange of the Rhaetian Alps in the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group. They are located in the Province of Trentino, in northeastern Italy. It is the only dolomitic group west of river Adige. Therefore, geographically, they have not always been considered a part of the Dolomites mountain ranges. Geologically, however, they definitely are - and therefore sometimes called the "Western Dolomites". As part of the Dolomites, the Brenta Group has been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention.

Province of Belluno Province of Italy

The Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.

The Monti Simbruini are a mountain range in central Italy, a part of Apennines mountain system.

Dolomites Railway former railway line in Northern Italy

The Dolomites Railway, originally the Ampezzaner Bahn or Ampezzaner Railway, was a railway in Northern Italy crossing the Dolomites mountains. The 64.9-kilometre (40.3-mile) long railway began in Calalzo and ended in Toblach. Its gauge was 950 mm — "Italian metre gauge". The Cortina d'Ampezzo - Toblach part was closed in 1962 and the Cortina d'Ampezzo - Calalzo di Cadore in 1964. Two EMUs went to the Trento - Malè railway and are still in use. Other vehicles went to the Apulo-Lucane railway.

Geography of Arizona

Arizona is a landlocked state situated in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It has a vast and diverse geography famous for its deep canyons, high- and low-elevation deserts, numerous natural rock formations, and volcanic mountain ranges. Arizona shares land borders with Utah to the north, the Mexican state of Sonora to the south, New Mexico to the east, and Nevada to the northwest, as well as water borders with California and the Mexican state of Baja California to the southwest along the Colorado River. Arizona is also one of the Four Corners states and is diagonally adjacent to Colorado.

Cimon della Pala mountain in Italy

Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites, 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 group, the Cima Vezzana being a few metres higher, its slender point, which can be seen from the Rolle Pass, dominates the landscape.

Tofane mountain range in the Dolomites

Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lies within Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, a nature park.

Flora of Italy

The flora of Italy was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 vascular plant species. However, as of 2005, 6,759 species are recorded in the Data bank of Italian vascular flora. Geobotanically, the Italian flora is shared between the Circumboreal Region and Mediterranean Region. According to the index compiled by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in 2001, 274 vascular plant species were protected.

Llogara National Park national park

The Llogara National Park is a national park centered on the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Riviera in Southwestern Albania, spanning an surface area of 1,010 ha (10.1 km2). The park's terrain includes large alpine meadows, vertical rock faces, precipices and dense forests. The most area of land is covered by forests and was established in 1966 to protect several ecosystems and biodiversity of national importance. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the park as Category II. The region has been recognised as an important Bird and Plant Area, because it support significant numbers of various bird and plant species.

Cinque Torri mountain in the Dolomites

Cinque Torri are a small group belonging to Nuvolao group, in the Dolomiti Ampezzane north-west of San Vito di Cadore and south-west of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Alburni mountain

The Alburni are an Italian mountain range of the Province of Salerno, Campania, part of the Apennines. Due to their geomorphology, they are popularly known as the "Dolomites of Campania" or of Southern Italy. The highest mountain is the Panormo. Its second name, Alburno, gives the name to the whole range.

Fiemme Mountains mountain range

The Fiemme Mountains, sometimes also the Fleimstal Alps or Fiemme Dolomites, are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps in the Italian region of Trentino-South Tyrol. The range was named after the Fiemme Valley.

Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park national park of Italy

The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park is a national park in the province of Belluno, Veneto, in the northern Italy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Parks and Protected Areas - Lucian Dolomites". Agenzia Promizione Territoriale di Basilicate.