Geology of the Dolomites

Abstract

The Dolomites region is a spectacularly exposed portion of the Southern Alps, a northern Italian chain derived from the comparatively gentle deformation of the Tethyan passive continental margin of Adria. The region had an active Permo-Jurassic tectono-magmatic evolution, leading from Permian magmatism, through a Middle Triassic episode of fast subsidence and volcanism, to the Jurassic oceanic break-up. Although the sedimentary succession ranges in age from Middle Permian to Cretaceous, the geological landscape is largely dominated by the majestic Triassic carbonates, making the area a classical one for the early Mesozoic stratigraphy. Particularly noteworthy are the Anisian to Carnian carbonate platforms, recording an evolution from regional muddy banks to isolated high-relief buildups. The filling of the various basins and the development of a last generation of regional peritidal platform followed. The carbonate platforms of the Dolomites bear witness to a remarkable set of changes in the carbonate production and to significant palaeoclimatic fluctuations, from arid to moist conditions and vice versa; a great range of margin and slope depositional styles is therefore recorded. Alpine tectonic shortening strongly affected the area, with a first Eocene deformation, followed by later Neogene overthrusting and strike-slip movements.