Sabatini, Italy
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, a remnant of intense volcanism
Volcanism
Volcanism is the phenomenon connected with volcanoes and volcanic activity. It includes all phenomena resulting from and causing magma within the crust or mantle of a planet to rise through the crust and form volcanic rocks on the surface....
which started ca. 600,000 years ago, mainly with pyroclastic and maar
Maar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...
forming eruptions which continued until 100,000 years ago. They are part of the Lazio's Anti-Apennines. Included between the Monti Sabatini is the Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region and one of the major lakes of Italy...
, which is a volcanotectonic depression formed about 3.7 Ma, and the Lake Martignano. The sedimentary base of the Sabatini complex lies buried under 200 m of volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
and rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
s.
The highest point is Monte Rocca Romana (a postcaldera stratocone), at 612 m.
Other mountains in the area include Monti della Tolfa
Monti della Tolfa
The Monti della Tolfa or "Tolfa Mountains" are a volcanic group in the Anti-Apennines of the northern part of the Lazio region of central Italy. They are bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea coast to the west, by the Monti Sabatini to the east, and by the Monti Cimini and the Mignone river to the north...
, Monte Soratte
Soracte
Monte Soratte is a mountain ridge in the province of Rome, Italy. It is a narrow, isolated limestone ridge with a length of and six peaks. Located some south east of Civita Castellana and c. north to Rome, it is the sole notable ridge in the Tiber Valley. The nearest settlement is the village...
, and more southwards, by the Monti Cornicolani.