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Latemar Triassic carbonate platform

Italy

The well layered platform interior facies of the Latemar platform (Cimon del Latemar, 2846 m a.s.l.).

The well layered platform interior facies of the Latemar platform (Cimon del Latemar, 2846 m a.s.l.).

Geological Period

Middle Triassic

Main geological interest

Stratigraphy and sedimentology

Location

The Dolomites of Northern Italy, between the provinces of Trento and Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
46°22’51”N, 011°34’30”E

The well layered platform interior facies of the Latemar platform (Cimon del Latemar, 2846 m a.s.l.).

A fully preserved isolated carbonate platform, probably with the best exposed facies transitions and depositional geometries in the World.

The Latemar is in the World Natural Heritage Site of the Dolomites, which are a World reference for depositional geometries and stratigraphy of high-relief carbonate platforms (Gianolla et al., 2008). The Latemar well represents this geological value by being an isolated carbonate platform, somehow a fossil atoll, that exposes some of the best facies transitions and depositional geometries globally, and the one with longer and wider tradition of geological studies. Due to its perfect exposure and completeness of depositional features, it became a standard for the study of the evolution of Phanerozoic carbonate platforms (Gaetani et al., 1981), cyclostratigraphy; dolomitization processes and the geometry of microbial carbonate platforms (Preto et al., 2021).

The flat top of the Latemar between Torre di Pisa and Cima Feudo and its regular southern slope inclined at ca. 30°. It corresponds to the shape of the platform in the Late Anisian (ca. 242 Ma).

The flat top of the Latemar between Torre di Pisa and Cima Feudo and its regular southern slope inclined at ca. 30°. It corresponds to the shape of the platform in the Late Anisian (ca. 242 Ma).

  • Geological description

The Latemar is a small mountain group ca. 6-8 km in diameter and with an elevation of its highest peak of. It is a fossil carbonate platform made of late Anisian (middle Triassic) limestone, which in the central part is well layered, each layer corresponding to a peritidal cycle and recording a high-frequency oscillation of relative sea-level (Goldhammer et al., 1987).
The layered nucleus contains green algae and molluscs; it is surrounded by a narrow belt of massive microbial boundstones with few calcareous sponges and corals. Seaward, steep slopes with a primary inclination of ca. 30° are preserved, and contain coarse breccia deposits with blocks up to few m large and made mostly of microbial boundstone. At their base, slopes are interfingering with nodular limestones with chert nodules and a pelagic biota, deposited in a basin many hundreds of meters deep. These facies transitions and geometries can be viewed from a ring of roads that run around the massif, which is also crossed by a dense network of hiking trails.
The calcareous massif was later affected by partial dolomitization. It exhibits a sharp and articulated dolomitization front, which has been the object of several studies (Jacquemin et al., 2014).

  • Scientific research and tradition

The Dolomites have been a hotspot for geological thinking since the 19th century thanks to studies on carbonate sedimentology. Within the Dolomites, the Latemar became a reference because many geological features are fully exposed. As of December 2023, more than 70 papers on the Latemar geology are indexed in Scopus.

Lithostratigraphic scheme of the Latemar platform. Thicknesses are on scale, and slope angles are preserved.

Lithostratigraphic scheme of the Latemar platform. Thicknesses are on scale, and slope angles are preserved.

  • Reference

Gaetani, M. et al. (1981) ‘Nature and evolution of Middle Triassic carbonate buildups in the Dolomites (Italy)’, Marine Geology, 44(1), pp. 25–57. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(81)90112-2.

Gianolla, P. et al. (2009) Nomination of the Dolomites for inscription on the World Natural Heritage List. UNESCO WHS Nomination. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1237.

Goldhammer, R.K., Dunn, P.A. and Hardie, L.A. (1987) ‘High frequency glacio-eustatic sealevel oscillations with Milankovitch characteristics recorded in Middle Triassic platform carbonates in northern Italy’, American Journal of Science, 287(9), pp. 853–892. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.287.9.853.

Jacquemyn, C. et al. (2014) ‘Dolomitization of the Latemar platform: Fluid flow and dolomite evolution’, Marine and Petroleum Geology, 55, pp. 43–67. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2014.01.017.

Preto, N. et al. (2021) ‘The depositional architecture of Latemar and Sella, isolated Triassic microbial platforms of the Dolomites, NE Italy’, in V.P. Wright and G. Della Porta (eds) Field guides to exceptionally exposed carbonate outcrops. International Association of Sedimentologists, pp. 209–263. Available at: https://doi.org/10.54780/IASFG3/05.

  • Author(s)

Nereo Preto.
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.

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