
Main Dolomite (german: Hauptdolomit, hu, Fődolomit, it, Dolomia Principale) is a
lithostratigraphic
Lithostratigraphy is a sub-discipline of stratigraphy, the geological science associated with the study of strata or rock layers. Major focuses include geochronology, comparative geology, and petrology.
In general, strata are primarily igneous ...
unit in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...
of Europe. Formation was defined by
K.W. Gümbel in 1857.
Middle to Late Triassic sedimentary record in the Alpine realm is characterized by presence of various masses of dolomitic rock formations. In the
Northern Calcareous Alps the dolomitic mass of Ladinian - Norian age is divided by the Carnian sandstones and shales of
Lunz Formation to the Ladinian - Carnian
Wetterstein Dolomite
The Wetterstein Formation is a regional geologic formation of the Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians extending from southern Bavaria, Germany in the west, through northern Austria to northern Hungary and western Slovakia in t ...
and Norian Main Dolomite.
[Tollmann, A., 1976: Analyse des klassischen nordalpinen Mesozoikums, Wien, Franz Deuticke, 580 pp.] The Main Dolomite reaches higher thickness than underlying dolomites in Alps, therefore it is considered as more important "Main".
Extent
The formation is found in:
* the
Northern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany ...
and
Southern Limestone Alps
The Southern Limestone Alps ( it, Alpi Sud-orientali, german: Südliche Kalkalpen), also called the Southern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent ...
of the
Limestone Alps
The Limestone Alps (german: Kalkalpen) are a mountain ranges system of the Alps in Central Europe.
They are of economic importance, including as a watershed source of drinking water. They have many accessible dripstone and ice caves.
Geography
T ...
, a mountain system of the western and
Central Eastern Alps
The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent ...
.
* the
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
* the
Western Carpathians
The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...
(Tatric, Fatric, Hronic, Silicic units)
Description
It is primarily made of
dolomite, ranging from in thickness. Main Dolomite is represented by the medium bedded dolomitic layers often with characteristic
stromatolitic
lamination. The formation was deposited in shallow
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...
s during the Late
Carnian
The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series (or earliest age of the Late Triassic Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followe ...
and Early
Norian
The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age ( geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian.
Stratigraphic ...
ages of the
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...
Epoch in the
Triassic Period
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
, during the
Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
.
Fossil content
Fossil
sauropodomorph
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had l ...
tracks, likely made by a
plateosaurid, have been reported from the formation.
[Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 517-607 ]
See also
*
List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
This list of dinosaur-bearing rock formations is a list of geologic formations in which dinosaur fossils have been documented.
Containing body fossils
* List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils
** List of stratigraphic units with f ...
**
List of stratigraphic units with sauropodomorph tracks
Prosauropods
Sauropods
See also
List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
Footnotes
References
* Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp.&nb ...
**
List of stratigraphic units with prosauropod tracks
References
{{Reflist
Geologic formations of Austria
Geologic formations of Germany
Geologic formations of Hungary
Geologic formations of Italy
Geologic formations of Slovakia
Triassic System of Europe
Triassic Austria
Triassic Germany
Carnian Stage
Norian Stage
Dolomite formations
Ichnofossiliferous formations
Geology of the Alps
Apennine Mountains
Limestone Alps
Northern Limestone Alps
Southern Limestone Alps