A Geological Itinerary Through the Southern Apennine Thrust Belt (Basilicata—Southern Italy)

Abstract

The proposed geological itinerary connects a series of impressive outcrops distributed between the front and the inner portion of the Southern Apennine thrust belt. It offers the opportunity to visit some of the most interesting and bestexposed Southern Apennine geosites, inserted within landscapes typical of the different sectors of the thrust belt, in order to illustrate its geological evolution. The itinerary has been designed in such a way as to intersect different stacked tectonic units and a great variety of sedimentary successions whose age ranges from Triassic to Pleistocene. Each of the chosen geosite contains multidisciplinary geological information that may be of interest for researchers, but may be also appreciated by a general public interested in geology. In particular, the stratigraphy, the structural geology and the geomorphology are the most recurrently treated topics. Most of these outcrops extend for many hundreds or thousands of metres and include villages or mountain reliefs. Therefore, every single site can be considered as an areal geosite containing particular geological features. However, the largest geosite can also be observed in a panoramic view from suitable locations. Thus, each of these sites provides different evidence and when combined together provides an opportunity to understand the complex geological history of the Southern Apennines. The motivation for establishing this itinerary mostly resides in the great scientific interest of the chosen outcrops; this will hopefully facilitate their conservation and the development of geotourism.

The Unique Granite Gorge in Mountainous Adygeya, Russia: Evidence of Big and Complex Geosite Disproportions

“…According to Ruban [7], these geosites can be linear (e.g., stretching along a river valley for several kilometers) or areal (e.g., embracing karst fields of several square kilometers or more). Such geosites have been reported, particularly, from Italy [8] and Thailand [9]. Evidently, the bigger the geosite, the less its homogeneity.…”

A Geotouristic Itinerary: A Proposal for Geotourism and Archaeotourism Development of Lenggong Valley, Perak, Malaysia

“…Scientific interest, accessibility and good exposure of outcrops associated with historical-cultural resources as well as recreational and aesthetic values were essential components (Bentivenga et al, 2017;Palladino et al, 2013) for the development of the geotouristic itinerary in the AHLV. In this paper, we will first outline the location and accessibility of the geosite followed by geological-scientific features or historical-cultural interest in order to highlight their importance to the geological and archaeological heritage of the Lenggong Valley.…”

Chemical Weathering in Small Mountainous Rivers of Southern Italy and Northern Spain

“…Data from a variety of sources were compiled by Milliman and Farnsworth (2011) 3.4 -soils-badlands or "calanchi"-are not uncommon. The combination of outcrops of silty clay, along with the angles and elevations of these exposures, and the effect of dry season cracking by the sun make them susceptible to rapid erosion, gullying, and even landsliding during the rainy season (Bentivenga et al 2017). In some locations agricultural activities have enhanced this effect.…”

“…The river valleys follow the most erodible rock types (Boenzi et al 2014). Because of the current and past complex tectonic activity, the region consists of a variety of lithotectonic units, reflected in large part by the post-Triassic evolution of the Mediterranean Sea (Vezzani et al 2010;Bentivenga et al 2017). The watersheds of these rivers are underlain by Mesozoic and Cenozoic marine sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.…”