Southern Alps (geology)

As the Southern Alps Geography and Geology refers to the southern part of the Eastern Alps. Drag from the Lugano Lake ( north of Milan ) 200 kms east - northeastward and over Trentino -Alto Adige (Italy ) to East Tyrol ( Austria ) and southern Carinthia. From there they run southeast to Friuli and Slovenia, where the transition to the Dinarides is fluid.

The demarcation of the South from the Central Alps is the Periadriatic seam, which is marked by wide longitudinal valleys. Because there are also crystalline masses south of the furrow that is spoken in the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps Eastern Alps of Southern, and excreted in the Western Eastern Alps. A large part of the Southern Eastern Alps - and the Southern Alps - is occupied by the Southern Limestone Alps: the Southern Alps exist on the surface largely of carbonates ( limestone and dolomite). Geological- tectonic of the Eastern Alps constructive Austroalpine forms part of the Dinaric ceiling system. The Southwest Section of actually located in more southerly latitudes Western Alps (France, Northern Italy ) refers to the geography and the Maritime Alps.

Geology

Geologically, the Alps are divided into four tectonic large units: Penninic and Helvetic, Austroalpine and Southern Alps. The Southern Alps are the mountain ranges south of the Periadriatic line ( Cento Valli ( Melezzatal ) - Valtellina ( Addatal ) - Passo Tonale - Val Pusteria - iG - Karawanken ).

In contrast to the ( geologically -conceived ) Eastern Alps, the Southern Alps are directed südvergent, which means that the Alpine nappes thrust faults and the Faltenbau are oriented to the south, while those directed the Eastern Alps to the north ( nordvergent ) are. At several fault lines, the Southern Alps on the geologically young layers at the southern edge of the Alps are pushed over, and also in its interior there are thrusts, which include these; but from a ceiling construction as in the north building blocks one can hardly speak. Effect of the southern edge of the Alps Tectonics include the Friuli earthquake of 1976.

In essence, the Southern Alps are considered tectonically built less complex than the Eastern Alps. In the Southern Alps, there is in addition to the generous Mesozoic formations major Paleozoic deposits ( Carnic Alps, Southern Karawanken, Variscan ceilings). In the subsoil of the northern edge of the Southern Alps ( Periadriatic seam) it was assumed earlier the missing root zone of the Northern Limestone Alps, since all the units seem to disappear north of Periadriatic seam in approaching these questions and steep underground. Today we know that the construction of the Alps is much more complicated, and that for the first the steep position back to a swelling of the Alpine arch in late folding stages, and secondly, the Periadriatic seam in its present form only after the thrust of the Northern Limestone Alps and the superposition of the individual ceiling was effective.

Physical Geography

In physical geography, the subdivision of the Eastern Alps by the Längstalfurchen in Northern Alps, Central Alps and Southern Alps is done. The term then corresponds to the petrological rock zone of the Southern Limestone Alps without strict limitation on limestone, regardless of the various local rock deposits, as of volcanic nature, and the Southern Alps.

Regional Geography

Under climatic and cultural criteria of regional geography, the term Southern Alps comprises roughly the same regions such as the physical geography, but refers Pohorje Mountain, which actually forms the foothills of the Central Alps, in the east, as well as the Ortler Alps, the Sobretta - Gavia group and the Bergamo Alps to Lake Como with a, so includes the Alps south of the line Adda - Adige - Eisack - Drava.