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Dolomites
Italian: Dolomiti German: Dolomiten
View on the Western Dolomites in Gherdëina
Highest point
Peak	Marmolada
Elevation	3,343 m (10,968 ft)
Coordinates	46°26′N 11°51′E / 46.433°N 11.850°E / 46.433; 11.850Coordinates: 46°26′N 11°51′E / 46.433°N 11.850°E / 46.433; 11.850
Geography
Dolomites Location of the Dolomites in the Alps
Country	Italy
Province	Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino
Parent range	Alps
Geology
Orogeny	Alpine orogeny
Age of rock	Mostly Triassic
Type of rock	Sedimentary rocks, including dolomite, and volcanics
The Three Peaks of Lavaredo
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: vii, viii
Reference	1237
Inscription	2009 (33rd Session)
Area	141,902.8 ha
Buffer zone	89,266.7 ha

The Dolomites (Italian: Dolomiti [doloˈmiːti]; Ladin: Dolomites; German: Dolomiten [doːloːˈmɪtn̩] (listen); Venetian: Dołomiti [doɰoˈmiti]: Friulian: Dolomitis) are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley (Italian: Valsugana). The Dolomites are nearly equally shared between the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino.

Other mountain groups of similar geological structure spread along the River Piave to the east – Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave; and far away over the Adige River to the west – Dolomiti di Brenta (Western Dolomites). A smaller group is called Piccole Dolomiti (Little Dolomites), located between the provinces of Trentino, Verona, and Vicenza (see map).

The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park and many other regional parks are located in the Dolomites. In August 2009, the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Etymology

The Dolomites, also known as the "Pale Mountains", take their name from the carbonate rock dolomite. This was named for 18th-century French mineralogist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu (1750–1801), who was the first to describe the mineral.^[1]

History

The Dolomites were formed during the Permian period over 280 million years ago, when parts of Europe and Africa were merged in a supercontinent known as Pangaea. During that time, there was a tropical sea and a great oceanic gulf called the Tethys. The mountains were thrust up and have since weathered.

During the First World War, the front line between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces ran through the Dolomites, where both sides used mines extensively. Open-air war museums are located at Cinque Torri (Five Towers) and Mount Lagazuoi. Many people visit the Dolomites to climb the vie ferrate, protected paths through the minefields that created during the war.

A number of long-distance footpaths traverse the Dolomites. They are called alte vie (high paths), and are numbered from 1 to 8. The trails take on the order of a week to walk, and are served by numerous rifugi (huts). The first and perhaps most renowned is the Alta Via 1.

Radiocarbon dating has been used in the Alta Badia region to demonstrate a connection between landslide activity and climate change.^[2]

Geography

The region is commonly divided into the Western and Eastern Dolomites, separated by a line following the Val Badia – Campolongo Pass – Cordevole Valley (Agordino) axis.

Current classification

The Dolomites may be divided into the following ranges:

Tourism

Girl on a swing in the Dolomites

The very beautiful Dolomites 2018 ^[3]

The Dolomites are renowned for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing, hiking, cycling, and BASE jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding in summer and late spring/early autumn.^{[citation needed]}Free climbing has been a tradition in the Dolomites since 1887, when 17-year-old Georg Winkler soloed the first ascent of the pinnacle Die Vajolettürme.^[4] The main centres include: Rocca Pietore alongside the Marmolada Glacier, which lies on the border of Trentino and Veneto, the small towns of Alleghe, Falcade, Auronzo, Cortina d'Ampezzo and the villages of Arabba, Urtijëi and San Martino di Castrozza, as well as the whole of the Fassa, Gardena and Badia valleys.

The Maratona dles Dolomites, an annual single-day road bicycle racing race covering seven mountain passes of the Dolomites, occurs in the first week of July.

Other characteristic places are:

• Mount Pasubio and Strada delle 52 Gallerie (a military mule road built during World War I with 52 tunnels)


• 
  Altopiano di Asiago and Calà del Sasso, with 4444 steps, the world's longest staircase open to the public.

Major peaks

Tofana Group

Winter view of the Sella Group

Vajolettürme

Gran Cir

Major passes

Langkofel/Sassolungo

Pordoi Pass

Falzarego Pass

Gardena Pass

Major parks

Panoramic view

360° panoramic view from Marmolada, highest peak in the Dolomites

Panoramic view of Lavaredo

See also

• Alta Via 1


• Belluno


• Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park


• Strada delle 52 Gallerie


• Via Ferrata


• White Friday (1916)

References

Bibliography

• 
   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dolomites, The" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 394.
  


• Provincia di Belluno, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano-Alto Adige Autonome Provinz Bozen-Südtirol, Provincia di Pordenone, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Provincia di Udine, Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, 2008. Nomination of the Dolomites for inscription on the World Natural Heritage List UNESCO. Nomination Document. 363 pp. https://web.archive.org/web/20131225070444/http://fondazionedolomitiunesco.org/documentazione-2/01_DOLOMITES_nomination_document_jan2008_1236608233_1294933181.pdf
  


• 
  "HD Pictures of the main areas of the Dolomites". Bruno Mandolesi.
  


• 
  "360 degree panorama Dolomites". SiMedia Srl. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  


• 
  Roger. "Walks and Via Ferrata in the Dolomites". CommunityWalk.com. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  


• 
  "Strada delle 52 Gallerie". Eclectica.
  


• 
  "Monte Piana in the Dolomites". Eclectica. August 21, 2006.
  


• 
  "Via Ferrata Lagazuoi Tunnels". Eclectica. August 9, 2006.
  


• 
  "Up to the Turquoise Lake". Eclectica. August 1, 2006.
  

External links

Media related to Dolomites at Wikimedia Commons

• Franco Grisa Timelapse


• Italian official cartography (Istituto Geografico Militare - IGM); on-line version: www.pcn.minambiente.it