Gennargentu (; ) is a large
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
in central-southern
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, Italy, encompassing the provinces of
Nuoro and
Ogliastra. It includes the highest peaks on the island, such as
Punta La Marmora (),
Monte Spada (),
Punta Erbas Virdes (),
Bruncu Spina () and
Punta Paulinu ().
The range forms part of the
Gennargentu National Park. Geologically, its rocks are amongst the oldest in Europe, and are therefore smooth shaped: rock types include
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
,
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
.
Toponymy
The etymology of the name is not attested: it could mean "Silver Door" (), "Door of the Winds" () or "Door of Absinthium" ().
Ski resorts
The mountains are home to the only ski resort on the island:
Bruncu Spina ski area.
See also
*
Gennargentu National Park
*
Bruncu Spina
References
Mountain ranges of Italy
Mountains of Sardinia
Ski areas and resorts in Italy
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