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| Geology and Water Balance |
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Geology
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 During the continental drift around 60 million years ago, the Adriatic plate split off the African continent. Drifting northward, it restricted the Jurassic Mediterranean, collided with the European continent and overrode it for about 150 kilometers.
The edges of the European continent were pressed downwards to the hot interior of the earth and melted into magma. Around 30 million years ago it penetrated the African slab situated above it through the existing crevices. These are the modalities of the formation of the Rieserferner group, which can thus be considered a product of the fusion of Africa and Europe. Around the tonalite masses, and in part even covering them, there is the old gneiss zone, which was part of the African slab.
Around 10 million years ago, the African slab had eroded to a point where it became possible to see the tonalite masses and the southern edge of the European continent - the central gneiss zone and the lower shale shell. This area extending from Brenner to Katschberg, situated 160 kilometers in the east, was named Tauern Window by geologists.
Urkontinent wurde mit Kontinent übersetzt, da der Ausdruck original continent im Englischen eher auf Pangaea oder Gondwana bezogen wird. |
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| Elements of Landscape |
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  Of all the nature parks in South Tyrol, Rieserferner-Ahrn has the highest share of glaciers. "Gletscher", the commonly employed German term for "glacier", is relatively new in South Tyrol. People used to refer to those mountains with terms like "Ferner" and "Kees", both original from the Zillertal dialect. Almost all the glaciers are in the north of the nature park. In 1873 Rieserferner covered the entire amphitheater between Schneebiger Nock and Hochgall, but it has now shrunk to three separate ice-fields.
Glacier shrinkage makes it possible to observe glacial formations, such as the different types of moraines, erratic blocks, glacial striations, lakes and dome-shaped landscapes. Differently put, in the small context of these glaciers the great phenomena which influenced large parts of the landscape at the end if the ice age period can be observed. |
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| Rivulets and Lakes |
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The richness of water in all its forms is one of the main characteristics of the park. Rivulets splash down the crevices and rock faces and there are plenty of waterfalls, such as the Reinfälle, the Pojer Waterfall and the Rötbach Waterfall. Many small lakes, situated mostly between 2,200 and 2,500 meters above sea level, fill depressions shaped by glaciers. Among these lakes are Klammlsee (2,243 m), the three Malerseen (2,477 - 2,587 m) and Koflerseen (2,412 - 2,463 m). Antholzer See (1,642 m) at the end of the Antholz Valley is the third biggest natural lake in South Tyrol . Together with its shores it is a protected biotope. |
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