Parco Naturale Regionale Monti Simbruini

Via 4 Novembre

03010 Filettino (FR)

Municipality: Filettino

Region: Lazio

The birth of the Apennines as a consequence of the folding of a part of the earth's crust (orogeny) must be set within the characteristic movements of the crust that have been broadly described in the theory of plate tectonics.
Because of the continental plate movements (the so-called "continental drift") and the crashes between them, over the geological eras several orogenic phenomena took place: as a final result, they have given origin to the main mountain chains of the world.

The movements that have given origin to the Apennines have been very complex and are part of what the researchers call "alpine orogeny" which formed the highest mountain chains along a more or less continuous strip going from the Pyrenees to Himalaya.
Like most of the mountains of the Central Apennines, also Simbruini Mountains, belonging to the carbonate platform of Lazio-Abruzzi, are mainly formed by calcareous rocks.
Water plays an essential role among the surface and subterranean transformation agents, shaping the landscape with the characteristic epigeal and hypogeal forms of the karstic phenomena. The surface topography of the karstic areas is very characteristic and easy to recognize. Usually, these areas have no surface watercourses (although Simbruini Mountains represent an exception, since they are crossed by the rivers Simbrivio and Aniene). From here the water is collected towards swallow holes with their characteristic subterranean shapes (caves, caverns, wells, and galleries), where they flow like the other rivers. The territory of Simbruini Mountains is very rich in these phenomena: for instance in Camposecco plateau situated in the Municipality of Camerata Nuova, in Campo della Pietra in the Municipality of Vallepietra, in Fondi di Jenne, and again in the area of Mt. Livata - Campaegli.