The Monviso Ophiolite Geopark, a Symbol of the Alpine Chain and Geological Heritage in Piemonte, Italy

Abstract

The Monviso Ophiolite Geopark (MOG) is one of the strategic geothematic areas chosen to represent the geodiversity of Piemonte within the research project “PROactive management of GEOlogical heritage in the PIEMONTE region”. The MOG is an extraordinary well preserved ophiolite body in the Italian Western Alps. It is one of the best known relics of oceanic crust in the Alps and formed during opening of the Mesozoic western Alpine Tethys and underwent high pressure metamorphism during Alpine subduction. The MOG encompasses the whole lithological spectrum of the Piemonte-Ligurian ophiolites, i.e. metamorphosed peridotite, gabbro, dolerite, basalt, and cover sediments. The MOG gives the almost unique chance for everybody to see and appreciate different portions of the ancient ocean along a mountain trail; from the Po river springs at Pian del Re, to Lago Fiorenza, Lago Lausetto and Lago Superiore, a path rises from 2,000 up to about 2,350 m a.s.l. and shows all different ophiolitic lithologies within few kilometers. The inventory of a number of different geosites at the MOG, whose conservation and development require different expertises, is considered as the first and essential starting point for the geoconservation of geological heritage and geosites.