The Landscape of the Aspromonte Massif: A Geomorphological Open-Air Laboratory

Abstract

The Aspromonte Massif, literally “Wild Mountain”, shows a very rugged and uneven topography due to a dense alternation of V-shaped valleys and interfluves. Three broad sets of geomorphic processes are principally responsible for landscape modelling and for carving the wide variety of landforms occurring in Aspromonte: tectonic uplift, river dissection and slope processes. These geomorphic processes, combined with weathering processes and contrasting rock erodibility, make Aspromonte one of the most landslide-prone areas in the Mediterranean basin, and the local river network a large in-channel sediment storage to be conveyed to the sea.