Protected Area
Identity Card
- Land Surface Area: 585.83 ha
- Regions: Sicilia
- Provinces: Palermo
- Municipalities: Palermo
- Establishment Measures: DA 438/44 21/06/2001
- PA Official List: EUAP1159
Riserva Naturale Orientata Capo Gallo
Mt. Gallo is a carbonate relief which formed from the Mesozoic (225 million years ago) to the Middle Eocene (54 and 33.7 million years ago). It is a karstic mountain presenting several superficial and endogenic erosive features and several cavities: Fossa del Gallo, Grotta Perciata, Grotta dei Caprari, Grotta delle Vitelle, Grotta Regina, and Grotta Caramula.
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Flora
Thanks to the presence of ideal conditions, a bed of Posidonia oceanica grows offshore, on the sandy seabed, while in Secca della Barra there is a coralligenous community reaching the 70 meters of depth.
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Fauna
The rocky coast is bordered by the vermetid "trottoir" (or 'rim'). This consists of dense aggregations of vermetid gastropods living inside calcareous shells cemented to the nearby organisms; since they lie on the surface of the water, they form a sort of living side-walk (called "trottoir"): the vermetid trottoir is endemic of the Mediterranean and only lives where the quality of the sea is high.
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