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Apuan Alps

Mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy

Apuan Alps

Summary

Mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy

FieldValue
nameApuan Alps
photoAlpi Apuane.JPG
photo_captionApuan Alps seen from Pietrasanta
countryItaly
regionTuscany
parentApennine Mountains
periodTriassic
highestMonte Pisanino
elevation_m1946
coordinates
map_imageAlpi Apuane Posizione.png
map_captionLocation of the Apuan Alps in Italy
Northern view of the Pizzo d'Uccello

The Apuan Alps () are a mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy. They are included between the valleys of the Serchio and Magra rivers, and, to the northwest, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, with a total length of approximately 55 km.

The name derives from the Apuani Ligures tribe that lived there in ancient times.

The mountain range is known for its Carrara marble. Due to the high environmental impact of marble quarrying, the No Cav movement strongly opposes this activity.

Geology and geography

[[Carrara marble]] being mined in the Apuan Alps

The chain formed out of sea sediments in the middle Triassic period, somewhat earlier than the rest of the Apennines, and on a rather different geological structure. Over time, these sediments hardened into limestone, dolomite, sandstone, and shale. Harsh pressure approximately 25 million years ago transformed the limestone in many places into the Carrara marble (named for the nearby city of Carrara) for which the range is renowned. Erosion carved much of the remaining sedimentary rocks into a jagged karst topography.

The No Cav environmental movement is fighting for the closure of the marble quarries in the Apuan Alps due to their environmental impact.

Fauna

The principal mammals are squirrels, dormice, moles, Hazel dormice, foxes, hares, martens, weasels, badgers, and polecats.

The area is home to over 300 species of birds, including the red-billed chough, common raven, buzzard, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, and kestrel, barn owl, little owl, tawny owl, and common owl.

Many migrant species are present too: the common nightingale, the black redstart, the red grouse, the wryneck, the cuckoo, the wallcreeper, and the alpine swallow while many species of passerines and tits, the great spotted woodpecker, and the green woodpecker are present throughout the year and well distributed.

Main peaks

  • Monte Pisanino (1946 m) – The highest peak in the Apuan alps
  • Monte Tambura (1,890 m)
  • Monte Cavallo (1,888 m)
  • Pania della Croce (1,858 m)
  • Monte Grondìlice (1,808 m)
  • Monte Contrario (1,788 m)
  • Pizzo d'Uccello (1,781 m)
  • Monte Sumbra (1765 m)
  • Monte Sagro (1,749 m)
  • Monte Procinto (1,177 m)

References

References

  1. (1980). "Natural Wonders of the World". Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
  2. (20 January 2023). "Le Alpi Apuane: tra i più grandi disastri ambientali europei".
  3. (23 March 2023). "This article is more than 2 years old Brave newt world: the species swimming against the tide of Italian marble". The Guardian.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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