DOLOMITES-UNESCO: PUEZ-ODLE, AN OPEN BOOK ON EARTH'S HISTORY
TRENTO - The Puez-Odle Dolomite mountain group is an open book on the entire succession of stratified rock found in the Dolomites from the last period of the Paleozoic era to the Cretaceous geological time period. The Puez-Odle nature reserve offers scientists a well preserved record of the earth's formation with important rock strata and prehistoric fossils considered internationally important by natural history experts.
A report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Puez-Odle, the fifth group of mountains included in Italy's bid for its spectacular Dolomite mountain range to be named a United Nations World Heritage site, describes the group as two large plateaus displaying a ''typical dolomite landscape isolated by sheer escarpment ridges with some of the highest peaks in the Dolomites''.
In 1972 an international treaty to identify and protect cultural and natural heritage was adopted by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The mission to preserve the world's heritage sites considered to have outstanding value to humanity is carried out by the World Heritage Committee, scheduled to rule on the Dolomites by the end of June.
Italy moved a step closer to its goal of getting its famous mountains a spot on the prestigious list in May when the IUCN approved its 2008 application. Nine mountain groups have been selected as representative of two UNESCO criteria: superlative natural phenomena and outstanding examples representing major stages of the earth's history. The relatively small sixth group, lying completely within the Alto Adige region, is called Puez-Odle in Italian, Puez-Geisler in German, and Poez-Odles in Ladin. These mountains are often referred to in both Italian and German, the two languages spoken this area of the Dolomites.
The ancient Ladin language is still spoken in a few remaining enclaves including the Val Gardena and Val Badia. Spanning 7,930 hectares, the Puez-Odle group is the prime Dolomite site for geological study according to the experts who prepared Italy's nomination documentation. The last of the northwest Dolomites, the entire area is part of a nature reserve established by the province of Bolanzo. To the south the park is bordered by the Val Gardena, to the east by the Val Badia, and to the north by the Val d'Isarco and the splendid Val di Funes, running deep into the heart of the protected zone. This part of the Dolomites came through relatively intact from the various phases of alpine geological upheaval.
The Puez-Gardenazza plateau has well documented Quaternary period deposits tracing the mountain's formation from the last great glaciations to the present day. The alternating characteristics of the different layers of sediment, including volcanic rocks, sea floor deposits, lagoons and tidal flats create a great variety of mountain landscapes. The regular slope of the Rasciesa-Raschoetz, made of very hard porphyry stone from the Atesino Volcanic Group, contrasts sharply with the steep carbonate rocks in the Odle (the Sciliar Dolomites), the Puez-Gardenazza and the Sass da Putia.
The west side of the Seceda summit is a sheer cliff with striking geological stratifications and one of the largest deposits of marine animal fossils; abundant marine fossils are also found in the Puez.
Two massifs dominate the northern area of the group: the Odle di Eores/Aferer Geisler, with its Sass da Putia/Peitlerkofel peak (2,875 metres) and the Funes/Geisler Odle. On the south side is the broad bastion of the Col de Puez (2,725 metres), a vast plateau whose rocky breadth is dotted with idyllic pastures and splendid alpine lakes; a prime example being the Crespeina Lake.
The Gardenazza area of the plateau is a moonscape where the Col de la Sone' rises up like a volcano. The area's most famous peak, the Sassongher (2,665 metres), towers over the town of Corvara in Badia. The Pizzes da Cir, sharp-cut mountains whose highest summit, the Grande Piz da Cir/Grosse Cirspitze (2,592 metres), offers a superb panorama, are just above the Gardena Pass.
Compared to the lunar Puez, the Odle, considered by some to be the most emblematic of the Dolomites, presents stunning a spectacle of shinning pinnacles rising over rocky white slopes and green meadows with groves of Muhgo and Swiss pines. The Forcella de Mesdi' divides the group in two parts, to the west the Odle chain, to the south the Sass Rigais (3,025).
The dominant peak, the Sciliar Dolomia, has an infinite number of paths to the summit, making it very popular with climbers.
Reinhold Messner, the famous Italian mountaineer who has been climbing in the Dolomites for six decades and was one of the leading proponents for the World Heritage campaign, was born at the foot of the Odle in Val di Funes and it was here that he began his adventurous career.
