(photo by: Nino Martino)
Access: Vedana Lake, Charterhouse of Vedana, S.Gottardo
A dry and deserted stony ground
An endless stony ground, bleak and dry, colonized with difficulty by a poor vegetation. It is the tormented landscape of the Masiere di Vedana (Stony Grounds of Vedana), a charming and enigmatic microcosm situated at the edges of the Park, around the Charterhouse of Vedana. There are several legends surrounding the origins of the Masiere (as it often happens for the mysterious phenomena of nature). However, the formation of this imposing scree made of big blocks is linked to a series of considerable collapse landslides that detached from Mt. Peron at the end of the last glaciation (about 15,000 years ago), when the basin of Mas-Peron was interested by the presence of the head of Cordevlole glacier which had separated from the Piave glacier. Therefore, we can talk about a big accumulation of “glacial marocche”, that is landslide material scattered by a dissolving glacial tongue. A unique “wet oasis” situated in this dry and stony desert is Vedana morainic lake, fed by subterranean water veins and set in a small basin along the route of an ancient abandoned valley of torrent Cordevole.
Rocks, environments, and other features
Rocks: Sandstone and marl of the Molasse Formation (riverbed of torrent Cordevole c/o Ponte Mas); big block of Vajont Limestone (Masiere)
Landscape features:
Glacial features: glacial deposits and “marocche” (landslides of glacial transport)
Karst features: karst fissures and channels on some big calcareous blocks (Vajont Limestone)
River-torrential features: giants kettles in sandstone formations (riverbed of torrent Cordevole c/o Ponte Mas)
Environment / Landscape
A bleak and tormented landscape
The landscape, unique and charming, is the characteristic landscape of the glacial landslides (“marocche”) and the screes made of big blocks: endless heaps of stones, dry and deserted, colonized with difficulty by fragments of poor vegetation, often prostrate vegetation.
Notes: easy itinerary developing on flat trails