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Area information
Surface:
21,461 hectares

Provinces:
Belluno, Pordenone, Udine

Main peaks:
Cima dei Preti (2,706 m)
Duranno (2,652 m)
Cima Montanel (2,461 m)
Cridola (2,581 m)
Cima Monfalcon di Montanaia (2,548 m)
Spalti di Toro (Cadin di Toro 2,386 m)
Campanile di Val Montanaia (2,173 m)

Nature reserves:
Parco Naturale Dolomiti Friulane				
Selection criteria

Reasons why the Dolomiti Friulane and of Oltrepiave were included in the Dolomites World Heritage serial property

Aesthetic and scenic criterion:

predominance of bare rock surfaces, like sheer rock walls, pinnacles and towers.

Geological and geomorphological criterion:

significant intrinsic and extrinsic geodiversity. Typical Dolomite Landscape, ample evidence of the geomorphologic effects of climatic phenomena and of morphodynamics. The area abounds of karst landforms and landslide phenomena.

Visit the Dolomites

Dolomiti Friulane and of Oltrepiave

Wild and untamed mountain ranges

The Dolomiti Friulane and of Oltrepiave are the fourth system of the Dolomites serial property, included by UNESCO on the World Heritage List. This area, one of the most wild and unexplored of the site, is located in the easternmost section, in the provinces of Belluno (Veneto), Pordenone and Udine (Friuli Venezia Giulia).

Bell tower of Val Montanaia rising against an end-summer sky – Municipality of Cimolais / nature reserve Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Friulane | Author: Marianna Corona The area is enclosed between the Piave river, the upper section of the Tagliamento river, the Val Tramontina valley and the central section of the Val Cellina valley. This compact mountain system, included in the nature reserve Parco Naturale Dolomiti Friulane, is characterized by imposing pinnacles and long, narrow valleys. The system runs from north to south and comprises several mountain groups: Monte Cridola, the Monfalconi , Duranno-Cima Preti , the Spalti di Toro with the famous and isolated Campanile di Val Montanaia, symbol of this area, and Cima Cadin degli Elmi, a vast basin with moraine deposits.

Geomorphology and geology

The Dolomiti Friulane and of Oltrepiave are mostly uninhabited. In this area you can admire sheer rock walls, narrow valleys, and solitary pinnacles the likes of which you won’t see in any other places. The area is an important geomorphological museum: there is in fact evidence of karst phenomena, landslide phenomena, and glacial modeling, especially in the form of cirques and moraine deposits in correspondence with the highest summits. The Vajont landslide is an important example of extrinsic geodiversity at a global scale.

From a geological point of view, the fourth system of this serial property appears as a succession of dolomitic-calcareous rocks, useful for the stratigraphic study of the Dolomites. Main Dolomite is the most common rock here, followed by the Forni Dolomite, Jurassic deposits and more recent formations. During the Jurassic Period a series of processes caused the breaking up and splitting of the tidal plain of Main Dolomite, which then sank into the sea, evidence of which is in the stratigraphy of the Val di Suola valley.

Did you know that…

Fossilized dinosaur tracks were found on the Dolomiti Friulane. One of the most interesting phenomena of the area are the Libri di San Daniele, slabs of limestone shaped by erosion in the form of stone pages stacked one on another, like petrified books in a library of geology.

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