Chiareggio, Geological Park of Chiareggio

A journey in an area of strong geological interest to know the secrets of the entire Alpine Arch. The Geological Park of Valmalenco was established between the village of Corte and the Nevasco torrent, covering an area of almost two hectares made available by the Municipality of Chiesa in Valmalenco, near the nice tourist resort of Chiareggio.
The finalization of the park required the collection of a large quantity of figurative and documentary material on the geology of these mountains. The suggested pathway uses a simple language and a large number of images, which aim at making geology accessible to everyone. The itinerary in the Park includes the visit of its three sections in three different moments. There is a first general introduction to the beauties of the Park, which is made under a canopy at the entrance of the Park. The four "Geological Panels" can be found here: they show the motions and the transformations of the earth lithosphere. The phases concerning the Alpine orogenesis, the geological order of Valmalenco and the main rocks in the valley are then illustrated. This is then followed by the "Lithographic Itinerary” along an easy path. The itinerary makes it possible to learn about all geological ages by walking among several different rocks. All types of rocks show a label illustrating their origin and morphological features. Along the path one can admire about sixty different types of rocks, divided into three main groups: Rocks of the Continental Crust and Oceanic Crust, which make up the skeleton of Alpine mountains in Valmalenco, and Tertiary Intrusive Rocks, which have intruded at some later stage. The itinerary ends on a terrace, where two big panels have been placed with the scale representation of the real landscapes visible at the back of the village. On the west, one can admire the "Geological Panorama of the Conca di Chiareggio" and its ring of peaks from Mount Pioda to the Vazzeda Peak. To the east, the "Geological Panorama of the Central-Eastern Valmalenco" can be observed. The Park was officially opened in 2000 thanks to the work of the Centro di Studio per la Geodinamica Alpina e Quaternaria (Study Centre for Alpine and Quaternary Geodynamics) and the Municipal Administration of Chiesa Valmalenco.