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| Geology and Water Balance |
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Almost all of the rock formations inside the nature park are made up of sedimentary rocks like limestone and dolomite. They were mainly formed by various micro-organisms which used to live in the sea.
 The plateaus of Fanes and Sennes-Fosses are surrounded by the rocks of a steep mountain. The plateau consists of Dachstein dolomite, which builds up the mountain edges of the  Rau Valley and Conturines in the south of the park. The landscape is characterized mainly by Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks. Due to tectonic movements, the Lias limestones were pushed upwards and formed flat mountain ledges with almost vertical rock faces or, at times, terraces resembling the steps of an amphitheatre. Near the Limo Lake there are also reddish ammonite limes (Ammonitico Rosso) with fossils of the spiral shaped ammonites.
Karst
 The geo-morphology in the area of the nature park is extremely complex due to the different rock  formations and the repeated change of the forming forces (erosion by water and glaciers, dissolution of the limestone). Of all the areas in the Dolomites, the Fanes-Sennes-Prags Nature Park is most affected by karst. The carbonic acid dissolved in water has corroded and dissolved especially the existing Jurassic limestones. Almost all the classical elements of karst can be seen here: grooves, creivices, fissures, shafts and dolines, which are small sinkholes in which lakes can form. The karst formation dates back mainly to pre-glacial warmth periods, but has lasted until our times.
Water Balance
 Subterranean drainage is typical of the high areas exposed to strong winds. They are interspersed with green hollows where springs bubble and mountain lakes shimmer in the sunlight. A delightful example of these green areas is Wassergarten below the lake Grünsee/Le Vert. |
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