Apennine Range

▪ mountains, Italy

Introduction

also called  the Apennines,  Italian  Appennino 

 series of mountain ranges bordered by narrow coastlands that form the physical backbone of peninsular Italy. From Cadibona Pass in the northwest, close to the Maritime Alps, they form a great arc, which extends as far as the Egadi Islands to the west of Sicily. Their total length is approximately 870 miles (1,400 kilometres), and their width ranges from 25 to 125 miles. Mount Corno, 9,554 feet (2,912 metres), is the highest point of the Apennines proper on the peninsula. The range follows a northwest–southeast orientation as far as Calabria, at the southern tip of Italy; the regional trend then changes direction, first toward the south and finally westward.

      The Apennines are among the younger ranges of the Alpine system and, geologically speaking, are related to the coastal range of the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. Similarities have also been observed with the Dinaric Alps, which extend through the Balkan region, including Greece. Nearby Sardinia and Corsica, on the other hand, are dissimilar to the Apennines, their granitic rock masses being linked to outcroppings along the Spanish and French coast, from which they parted some 20 million years ago.

Physical features

Geology

      The majority of geologic units of the Apennines are made up of marine sedimentary rocks that were deposited over the southern margin of the Tethys Sea, the large ocean that spread out between the Paleo-European and the Paleo-African plates during their separation in the Mesozoic era (about 245 to 66 million years ago). These rocks are mostly shales, sandstones, and limestones, while igneous rocks (such as the ophiolites of the northern Apennines, the remains of an older oceanic crust) are scarce. The oldest rocks—metamorphic units of the late Paleozoic era (about 300 to 245 million years ago), with their continental sedimentary cover containing plant remains—represent the relicts of the ancient continental crust of Gondwanaland and are found in small outcroppings. The granitic intrusions and metamorphic units of the Calabrian and Sicilian ranges are also Paleozoic (Hercynian orogeny), but they are believed to be Alpine in origin and only became part of the Apennine chain through subsequent major tectonic movements.

      The Apennine orogeny developed through several tectonic phases, mostly during the Cenozoic era (i.e., since about 66 million years ago), and came to a climax in the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (23.7 to 1.6 million years ago). The Apennines consist of a thrust-belt structure with three basic trending motions: toward the Adriatic Sea (the northern and central ranges), the Ionian Sea (Calabrian Apennines), and Africa (Sicilian Range). During Plio-Pleistocene times, ingression and regression of the sea caused the formation of large marine and continental sedimentary belts (sands, clays, and conglomerates) along the slopes of the new chain. In the past million years numerous large faults have developed along the western side of the Apennines, which may be connected to the crustal thinning that began about 10 million years ago and resulted in the formation of a new sea, the Tyrrhenian. Most of these faults have also facilitated strong volcanic (volcano) activity, and a volcanic chain has formed along them from Mount Amiata in Tuscany to Mount Etna in Sicily; most of these volcanoes—including Mount Amiata, Mount Cimino, the Alban Hills near Rome, and the Ponza Islands—are extinct, but, to the south, Mount Vesuvius, the Eolie Islands, and Mount Etna are all still active. Seismic activity is common along the entire length of the chain (including Sicily), with more than 40,000 recorded events since AD 1000. Mostly earthquakes (earthquake) are shallow (three to 19 miles deep), and their occurrence is probably connected to the settlement of the chain in the complicated interaction between the African and European tectonic plates.

      The geologic youth of the Apennines and a great variety of rock types are responsible for the rugged appearance of the range today. In the north, in Liguria, sandstones, marls, and greenstones occur. Landslides often occur in these brittle rocks. In Tuscany, Emilia, Marche, and Umbria, clay, sand and limestones are common. In Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, and northern and eastern Sicily, there are large calcareous rock outcrops, separated by lowland areas of shale and sandstone. In Molise, Basilicata, and Sicily, extensive argillaceous (clayey) rock types occur. Here, the landscape has a thirsty and desolate appearance, with frequent erosion of the calanchi, or badlands, type.

Physiography

      Starting from the north, the main subdivisions of the Apennines are the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, with a maximum height of 7,103 feet at Mount Cimone; the Umbrian-Marchigian Apennines, with their maximum elevation (8,130 feet) at Mount Vettore; the Abruzzi Apennines, 9,554 feet at Mount Corno; the Campanian Apennines, 7,352 feet at Mount Meta; the Lucanian Apennines, 7,438 feet at Mount Pollino; the Calabrian Apennines, 6,414 feet at Mount Alto; and, finally, the Sicilian Range, 10,902 feet at Mount Etna (Etna, Mount). The ranges in Puglia (the “boot heel” of the peninsula) and southeastern Sicily are formed by low, horizontal limestone plateaus, which remained less affected by the Alpine orogeny.

      The rivers of the Apennines have short courses. The two principal rivers are the Tiber (Tiber River) (252 miles long), which follows a southerly course along the western base of the Umbrian-Marchigian range before flowing through Rome to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Arno (Arno River) (155 miles), which flows westerly from the Tuscan-Emilian range through Florence to the Ligurian Sea. In spite of the limited length of the rivers, the action of running water is the chief agent of erosion responsible for molding the contemporary Apennine landscape. The character of the physical geography depends on the varying nature of the rocks in each region and their resistance to water action. The overall aspect of relief, however, exhibits characteristics of an early, or juvenile, stage in the cycle of erosion. In limestone areas, karst erosion, with crevasses worn by water action, predominates. In the highest part of the Apennines there are traces of the erosive action of the glaciers of the last Ice Age, although, unlike the Alps, contemporary glaciers are lacking.

      Lakes—which today are small and scattered in distribution—were also much more abundant in earlier Quaternary times. The alluvial Lake Trasimeno (Trasimeno, Lake) (49 square miles [128 square kilometres]) in the Umbrian-Marchigian Apennines is the largest lake of the present range. Other natural lakes, of varying origin, are scattered throughout the range. There are more than 200 artificial lakes created for purposes of power and irrigation.

Climate

      The climate of the highest section of the Apennines is continental (as found in the interior of Europe) but ameliorated by Mediterranean influences. Snowfalls are frequent, with cold winters and hot summers (average July temperature 75°–95° F [24°–35° C]). Average rainfall—at between 40 and 80 inches (1,000 and 2,000 millimetres) per year—is higher on the Tyrrhenian slopes than on the eastern, or Adriatic, side of the Apennines.

Plant and animal life

      The flora of the Apennines is Mediterranean in type and varies with both latitude and altitude. In the north, woodlands with oak, beech, chestnut, and pine predominate. To the south, ilexes, bays, lentisks, myrtles, and oleander (a flowery evergreen herb) abound. Prevailing crops are represented by the olive trees, growing to a height of about 1,300 feet above sea level; citrus fruits, which are well developed in Calabria and Sicily; and grapes, which are found in abundance in Tuscany, Lazio, and Puglia. Other products of the range include sugar beets (in the plain of Emilia), potatoes, vegetables, and fruit. The importance of corn (maize) diminished with the depopulation of hill farms. In the highland areas, pasturing remains the main form of land utilization.

      Apennine fauna has been little studied. In addition to typical Mediterranean fauna, many of the indigenous Apennine species (with several species found exclusively within the range, including some insects, the brown “marsicano” bear, the chamois, the wolf, and the wild boar) are now preserved in two natural reserves (Abruzzo National Park and Sila Park) and several regional parks.

People and economy

      Since prehistoric times the Apennines have been the home of Italic peoples. Today, the highest village settlement is found at about 4,500 to 5,000 feet above sea level, at the upper limit of cultivated land. More densely populated areas are found in the wide river valleys, which are rich in alluvial and cultivated land (e.g., the valleys of Lunigiana in Liguria, Garfagnana in Tuscany, and those of the upper Arno and Tiber rivers). Internal basins (Foligno, Terni, Rieti, l'Aquila, Sulmona, Avezzano) are also well populated. Rural depopulation, resulting from the lack of development of the Italian south and the attraction of industrial areas in northern Italy and elsewhere in Europe, has reached major proportions. This emigration has nevertheless slackened, mainly as a result of attempts to develop the local economy.

 In the foothills of the Apennines, manufacturing industries are widespread, while extraction industries have been developed in the adjacent coastal plain, often in association with important discoveries of natural gas. Such minerals as mercury, sulfur, boron, and potassic salts are also of significance, while the marble quarries—particularly those near Carrara—of the Apennines have been famous for centuries.

      The Apennines are crossed by several railway lines, some of them double-tracked. There are numerous roads providing access to the range, although the rugged terrain makes for difficulties. Among the highways that have overcome the barriers of relief with imposing series of tunnels and embankments is the Autostrada del Sole (“Highway of the Sun”), which is the main artery of peninsular Italy and one of the great scenic routes of Europe.

Study and exploration

      Various aspects of the Apennines—their geology, hydrography, zoology, and botany—have been studied by the leading Italian universities, the Italian Geological Survey, and such bodies as the National Research Council of Italy and the Hydrographic Service of the Ministry of Public Works. Since the late 1970s many scientists have organized several national research projects concerning the geologic evolution and hazards of the Apennines and have also conducted environmental evaluations and petroleum surveys.

Bruno Accordi Maurizio Parotto Thomas M. Poulsen

Additional Reading

Literature on the Apennines includes D. Postpischl (ed.), Catalogo dei terremoti italiani dall'anno 1000 al 1980 (1985), a scientific catalog of earthquakes, with an extended abstract in English that provides information on geologic characteristics of the range; Calvino Gasparini, Enrico Giorgetti, and Maurizio Parotto, Il terremoto in Italia: cause, salvaguardia, interventi (1984), a study of the seismic hazards in the region and of protective measures against them; Sandro Pignatti, Flora d'Italia, 3 vol. (1982), a discussion of the major plants of the area; and Roland Sarti, Long Live the Strong: A History of Rural Society in the Apennine Mountains (1985). Works that contain detailed geologic information on the Apennines include L. Ogniben, M. Parotto, and A. Praturlon (eds.), Structural Model of Italy: Maps and Explanatory Notes (1975); Cento anni di geologia italiana (1981), a centennial publication of the Italian Geological Society; and Emmanuel Jaurand, Les Glaciers disparus de l'Apennin: géomorphologie et paléoenvironnements glaciaires de l'Italie péninsulaire (1998).Thomas M. Poulsen

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