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EARTH PYRAMIDS
The famous Earth Pyramids are among the most celebrated natural
features on the Ritten. The raw material for the earth pyramids comes
from moraine clays deposited by the main Eisack valley glacier, as well
as local tributary glaciers, in the late ice age.
When dry, this moraine clay is as hard as stone; dampened it forms a
porridge-like substance which begins to slip and flow downhill. In this
way, over a period of time, the saturated earth slides down into the
stream below and is washed away. This constant and continuous slippage
is temporarily halted only when this erosion encounters a forest where
the underlying ground is so dry that it is rock hard, which hinders
further rapid slippage. This is how those steep cliffs, up to 10 to 15
metres in height and a pre-condition for the formation of the earth
pyramids, are made. Wherever the moraine contains larger stones which
keep the earth underneath dry and hard, earth pyramids are formed by
literally being "washed", or more precisely eroded, out of
these cliffs. The higher the cliff and the higher up a suitable stone is
found, the taller and mightier the resulting pyramid becomes
On the Ritten you‘ll find several earth pyramids, whereby those in
the "Katzenbachtal" below Oberbozen and particularly in the
"Finsterbachtal", between Lengmoos and Mittelberg, which are
most well-known. Further one finds still earth pyramids in the proximity
of Unterinn.
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WEATHER TODAY
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