{"id":6284,"date":"2022-02-23T14:06:33","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T13:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitdossena.it\/cosa-fare-e-vedere\/curiosita-intorno-alle-miniere-di-dossena\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:17:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:17:58","slug":"curiosities-around-the-mines-of-dossena","status":"publish","type":"avada_portfolio","link":"https:\/\/www.visitdossena.it\/en\/what-to-do-and-see\/curiosities-around-the-mines-of-dossena\/","title":{"rendered":"Curiosities around the Mines of Dossena"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dossena Mines<\/div><\/div>

Geological origins<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>
250\/200<\/div><\/div>

MILLION<\/p>\n<\/div>

years ago<\/p>\n<\/div>

The Earth consisted of a single continent called Pangaea, covering about one third of the globe’s surface, surrounded by a single vast ocean called Panthalassa.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

190<\/div><\/div>

MILLION<\/p>\n<\/div>

years ago<\/p>\n<\/div>

A rift occurred in the eastern part of Pangaea, within which a new ocean, called Tethys, formed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

83\/60<\/div><\/div>

MILLION<\/p>\n<\/div>

years ago<\/p>\n<\/div>

The American continent broke away from Pangaea, moving westwards; the African continent began to push northwards, giving rise to the Apula lithospheric plate (Italy) and the Mediterranean Sea. To the east, the Tethys Closure took place due to the northward shift of the Indian Plate, which detached from the Australian continent and raised the Himalayan mountain range; Antarctica and Australia moved southwards.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

20\/15<\/div><\/div>

MILLION<\/p>\n<\/div>

years ago<\/p>\n<\/div>

Within the Mediterranean, as a result of volcanic explosions and continuous telluric shifts, Sardinia and Corsica broke off to the west; the Apennines rose due to the shift (still ongoing) of the peninsula to the east. Following the opening of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea dried up, resulting in the deposition of saline (gypsum, anhydrite, rock salt) and organic (shells, crustaceans, corals) sediments.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

7\/5<\/div><\/div>

MILLION<\/p>\n<\/div>

years ago<\/p>\n<\/div>

The sediments were shifted northwards by the continuous thrust of the African plate, giving the Alps their current shape; their orography, together with that of Europe and the Mediterranean, will be defined following the last ice age, which began about 100,000 years ago and was completed with the melting of the ice between 40,000 and 15,000 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span><\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

The several natural cavities present (there are vertical shafts measuring 70 to 200 metres in depth) were formed over the last 10,000 years, thanks to the erosive action of water and melting ice following the last ice age.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span><\/div>

An example of a fault visible within several tunnels. Research excavation was often initiated along the faults, precisely because of the lesser difficulty encountered in breaking up the rock and the greater structural stability offered by solid rock walls.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

UNTIL THE EARLY 1900s<\/div><\/div>

Conformation of the Alps<\/h4><\/div>

Metamorphic rock, formed as a result of frequent telluric shifts:<\/p>\n