*4.2. Geomorphological Analysis*

The study area is characterized by the outcropping of lithological sequences belonging to pre- to sin-orogenic deposits. In detail, it is characterized by calcareous and marly deposits outcropping in the southernmost sector, in correspondence with the Corno Piccolo ridge. Instead, the central sector is dominated by the presence of arenaceous-pelitic and pelitic-arenaceous deposits, mainly composed of turbiditic layers with fine sand or coarse silt and pelitic intercalations. The bedrock is widely covered by continental deposits (Figure 6). Scree slope deposits, mainly composed of cemented breccias, characterize the westernmost sector and, locally, the easternmost one, near la Madonnina.

In the Prati di Tivo area, recent glacial and alluvial fan deposits are present along the N–S-elongated outcrops; moving eastward, fluvio-glacial deposits, consisting of cemented breccias and largely marked by landslide bodies, alternate with recent scree slope deposits.

From a geomorphological standpoint, the most recurrent features are represented by structural, slope, fluvial, and glacial landforms (Figure 6). Concerning structural ones, in the southernmost sector, a W–E-oriented is detectable, overlapping calcareous deposits on overturned marly deposits. A second buried thrust is not clearly observable, but its existence can be inferred through minor in-field exposures that highlight the overlapping of marly deposits over sin-orogenic pelitic-arenaceous deposits. Slope landforms partly consist of active rockfalls and complex landslides in the northern sector near Pietracamela.

Large quiescent rotational and translational slides affect the central-eastern portion of the study area east of the Prati di Tivo area, together with localized quiescent earthflows. Smaller rotational and translational slides are found towards the north, mainly set on pelitic-arenaceous deposits. Finally, N–S-oriented rock gullies with debris discharges characterize the northern slop of the Corno Piccolo ridge. Landforms due to running water are mainly represented by a wide alluvial fan, as well as of several gullies; both are present in the western part of the study area, within the Prati di Tivo area, the former being set between glacial (to the West) and landslide (to the East) deposits, the latter with

a general N–S direction and extending along the main drainage line. Finally, concerning glacial landforms, several scarps are preserved as relict landforms in the southern sector. Furthermore, several N–S-oriented avalanche tracks characterize the norther escarpment of the Corno Piccolo ridge, alternating themselves with the rock gullies.

**Figure 6.** Simplified geomorphological map of the study area (modified and updated from [65,88,89]). The black line represents the study area.
