The central Marmolada Group...

The central Marmolada Group...

The central Marmolada Group with Torre Dantone to the right. The color contrast couldn't be more pronounced: while the bulk of the Marmolada Group is composed of pale limestone, Torre Dantone and neighbouring Sas de Roces are composed of black volcanic rock. July 21st 2005
Gangolf Haub
on Oct 10, 2005 4:56 pm
Image ID: 130379

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livioz

livioz - Oct 11, 2005 7:07 pm - Voted 10/10

you know...

This is the kind of photo I like!

brenta

brenta - Oct 12, 2005 2:24 am - Hasn't voted

Limestone?

I've always assumed that Marmolada was made of limestone, not dolomite. Have I been wrong all along?

Gangolf Haub

Gangolf Haub - Oct 12, 2005 3:49 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Limestone?

Well, I have always thought it was dolomite. But I actually don't know. If you look at the south face you can see the reddish inlays which are so typical of dolomite. But it could be anything else. Unfortunately I don't have a good guidebook with geological info. But Livio has. Maybe he can look it up...

brenta

brenta - Oct 12, 2005 9:56 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Limestone?

I did a little search. The most reliable source is "Geologia per Alpinisti" (no need to translate, I'm sure) by Silvia Metzeltin, which lists Marmolada as a typical example of limestone in a table of the most common types of rocks.



Marmolada's south face is also known for its slabs that are typical of limestone rather than dolomite. But it may be that things are a bit more complicated than that.

brenta

brenta - Oct 12, 2005 10:29 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Limestone?

Here is a good link.

Gangolf Haub

Gangolf Haub - Oct 12, 2005 3:05 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Limestone?

Did you know all that? It's a very interesting link. I would place a link on the page but I'm afraid that this is too much for the common SPer to digest. So let's call it limestone :-)

brenta

brenta - Oct 12, 2005 3:22 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Limestone?

No, I only knew that among climbers Marmolada is famous for its limestone south wall. Sometimes, however, things are complicated and a geology layman like me is always left with the doubt that there's more than meets the eye.



I would add the link to the page, maybe with a disclaimer: "More than you'll ever want to know about Marmolada's geology."

Viewing: 1-7 of 7