Colli Euganei (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
: Euganean Hills) are located in the
VenetoVeneto , is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 4.8 million, and its capital is Venice....
region of northern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, a few kilometers south of
PaduaPadua is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice , in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area, having a population of c...
. They take their name from the
EuganeiThe Euganei is a semi-mythical proto-Italic ethnic group that dwelt an area among Adriatic Sea and Rhaetian Alps. Subsequently, they were driven by the people Adriatic Veneti in an area between the river Adige and Lake Como, where they remained until the early Roman Empire...
, a semi-mythical population who inhabited the area before the
VenetiThe Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
.
The Euganei Hills are of
volcanic3. Conduit
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14. Crater
15...
origin; the first eructions of
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey.On Earth, most...
ic
magmaMagma [from Greek μάγμα, paste] is molten rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles. Magma often collects in a magma chamber inside a volcano...
occurred during the
EoceneThe Eocene epoch, lasting from 55.8 ± 0.2 to 33.9 ± 0.1 Ma , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch. The start of the...
period, when the area was submerged under the
seaA sea is any large amount of water filled with animals such as crabs, whales, sharks, and fish, but there is inconsistency as to its precise definition and application. Most commonly, a sea may refer to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, but it is also used sometimes for a...
. Later, in the
OligoceneThe Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
period, eructions of more viscous
rhyoliteThis page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
s,
trachyteTrachyte is an igneous, volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. The mineral assemblage consists of essential alkali feldspar; relatively minor plagioclase and quartz or a feldspathoid such as nepheline may also be present....
s, and
latiteLatite is an igneous, volcanic rock, with aphanitic-aphyric to aphyric-porphyritic texture. Its mineral assemblage is usually alkali feldspar and plagioclase . Quartz is absent in a feldspathoid-bearing latite, and olivine is absent in a quartz-bearing latite...
s created the typical
volcanic coneVolcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations in the world. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during...
s.
The area still maintains geothermal activity (hot springs, hot mud) in the spas areas of Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme.
The Colli Euganei remained a small
archipelagoAn archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago is directly derived from the Greek arkhon and pelagos...
until the general rising that generated the entire
Pianura padanaThe Po is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest...
during the
QuaternaryThe Quaternary period is the youngest of three periods of the Cenozoic era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows after the Neogene period, spanning 2.588 +/- 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period.
The area is now a
protected regional parkProtected areas are locations which receive protection because of their environmental value, or environmental plus cultural values. Examples include parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries...
.
Colli Euganei (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
: Euganean Hills) are located in the
VenetoVeneto , is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 4.8 million, and its capital is Venice....
region of northern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, a few kilometers south of
PaduaPadua is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice , in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area, having a population of c...
. They take their name from the
EuganeiThe Euganei is a semi-mythical proto-Italic ethnic group that dwelt an area among Adriatic Sea and Rhaetian Alps. Subsequently, they were driven by the people Adriatic Veneti in an area between the river Adige and Lake Como, where they remained until the early Roman Empire...
, a semi-mythical population who inhabited the area before the
VenetiThe Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
.
The Euganei Hills are of
volcanic3. Conduit
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14. Crater
15...
origin; the first eructions of
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey.On Earth, most...
ic
magmaMagma [from Greek μάγμα, paste] is molten rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles. Magma often collects in a magma chamber inside a volcano...
occurred during the
EoceneThe Eocene epoch, lasting from 55.8 ± 0.2 to 33.9 ± 0.1 Ma , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch. The start of the...
period, when the area was submerged under the
seaA sea is any large amount of water filled with animals such as crabs, whales, sharks, and fish, but there is inconsistency as to its precise definition and application. Most commonly, a sea may refer to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, but it is also used sometimes for a...
. Later, in the
OligoceneThe Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
period, eructions of more viscous
rhyoliteThis page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
s,
trachyteTrachyte is an igneous, volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. The mineral assemblage consists of essential alkali feldspar; relatively minor plagioclase and quartz or a feldspathoid such as nepheline may also be present....
s, and
latiteLatite is an igneous, volcanic rock, with aphanitic-aphyric to aphyric-porphyritic texture. Its mineral assemblage is usually alkali feldspar and plagioclase . Quartz is absent in a feldspathoid-bearing latite, and olivine is absent in a quartz-bearing latite...
s created the typical
volcanic coneVolcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations in the world. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during...
s.
The area still maintains geothermal activity (hot springs, hot mud) in the spas areas of Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme.
The Colli Euganei remained a small
archipelagoAn archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago is directly derived from the Greek arkhon and pelagos...
until the general rising that generated the entire
Pianura padanaThe Po is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest...
during the
QuaternaryThe Quaternary period is the youngest of three periods of the Cenozoic era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows after the Neogene period, spanning 2.588 +/- 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period.
The area is now a
protected regional parkProtected areas are locations which receive protection because of their environmental value, or environmental plus cultural values. Examples include parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries...
. Near the Hills are the towns of Este and
MonseliceMonselice is a town and municipality located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, in the province of Padua.It is about 20 km southeast of the city of Padua, at the southern edge of the Euganean Hills .-History:...
.
External links
Official website of the Park www.colli.euganei.it