One of the most magical area in the Italian Alps the Dolomites are on the news. Sevilla, Spain, on June 26, 2009 the UNESCO assembly has, on their annual meeting, confirmed the Dolomites as a Natural World Heritage providing this area a world wide prestige. So the Dolomites now legitimately belong to the most beautiful mountains in the world.
Majestic peaks, sweeping landscapes and geological and botanical peculiarities make them a worldwide unique artwork made by mother nature.
The Dolomites (Italian: Dolomiti; German: Dolomiten;) cover a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps. They are located for the most part in the province of Belluno, the rest in the provinces of Bolzano-Bozen and Trento (all in north-eastern Italy).
The morphological region is divided into the Western (Dolomiti del Brenta) and Eastern Dolomites, separated by a line following the Valle dell’Adige. The range which includes more than 40 glaciers. numbering 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 metres and cover 141,903 ha. It features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere, with vertical walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys.
The name “Dolomites” came from the French mineralogist D?odat Gratet de Dolomieu who was the first to explain the rock peculiarity, dolomite, a type of carbonate rock which is responsible for the characteristic shapes and (pink read) color of these mountains.
A serial property of nine areas that present a diversity of spectacular landscapes of international significance for geomorphology marked by steeples, pinnacles and rock walls, the site also contains glacial landforms and karst systems. It is characterized by dynamic processes with frequent landslides, floods and avalanches. The property also features one of the best examples of the preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil records.
In the last 30 years Dolomites area became a tourist Mecca, famous for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing, daily excursions, climbing and Base Jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding in summer and late spring/early autumn. On the Dolomites is possible to get involved Sport of any kind of effort from the most adrenalin Free climbing to a lovely and relaxing bush walk whit the family.
The history of Dolomites mountaineering began already in the middle of the 1800s when the first foreign visitors started to writing travel journals extolling the area as an exceptional destination.
From the first local shepherds and hunters who had naturally already climbed many of the Dolomite peaks to the presently sports famous professional climbers the charm and beauty of the Dolomites never changed. In fact here the population still leave in harmony whit the nature, offering to the travellers a magic sensation and create the perfect atmosphere for a unforgettable eco-tourism holiday.
For more information about Suedtirol and the Dolomites visit Suedirol info