This geosite is represented by an outcrop of the Scaglia Bianca (Lower Cretaceous). This formation is composed of marly limestones and white/grey marls with small intercalations of clays and bituminous marls. The Scaglia Bianca represents the geodynamic transition from a divergent tectonic regime (which led to the fragmentation of Pangea, to the formation of the South Atlantic Ocean through the separation of Africa from South America) to a convergent tectonic regime that will lead the African tectonic plate to collide with the Eurasian tectonic plate with the consequent formation of the Alps.
Credits: UAV-based survey and photogrammetry processing are provided by Fabio L. Bonali.
References
- Oppizzi, P., Pasquaré Mariotto, F., Stockar, R., Stella, A., Corti, N., Pedicini, M., … & Bonali, F. L. (2023). Geosites in the Gole della Breggia Geopark, Ticino, Southern Switzerland. Resources, 12(10), 122. Geosite (stop) n. 4.