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Fossil Site Of Monte San Giorgio

The Pachypleurosaurus , a fossil that was discovered at Monte San Giorgio. Contact 45 55 '00 "North
08 56 '60 "East / 45.916667, 8.95 Country

Switzerland

Italy Subdivision Swiss Canton of Ticino
Italy: Province of Varese Type Natural Criteria (Viii) Area 1 089.34 ha
Buffer zone: 207.45 ha 3 Number
Identification 1090 Region Europe and North America ** Year Registration 2003 ^(27thSession ) Year extension 2010 ^(34thSession )

* Name UNESCO
** UNESCO Geographical Classification change

The fossil site of Monte San Giorgio is a natural site located on the border between Italy and Switzerland , on the slopes of Monte San Giorgio. It is inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO since 2003 for the portion located in the canton of Ticino (Switzerland), and 2010 for the area in Italy ( Varese ). This site paleontology has been classified by UNESCO as "the single best-known Triassic marine life" ^Location

The village of Brusino Arsizio (Switzerland) on the shore of Lake Lugano and Monte San Giorgio. In the background, the Monte Generoso.

The site straddles the Swiss-Italian border south of Lake Lugano. Another classified site, larger size, is also on the Monte San Giorgio , it is classified by the Swiss Federal Inventory of Landscapes and natural monuments of national importance (BLN) .

Geological history

The paleontological site is an outcrop of rocks situated on the Monte San Giorgio. This mountain, part of the Alps Lepontine rose during the orogeny Alpine .

The site contains comprehensive and well-preserved fossils from the Triassic. There are about 240 million years this site was in a tropical lagoon, sheltered from the sea by a reef. Different forms of life flourished within this lagoon, mainly marine: the reptiles , the fish , the bivalve , the ammonites , the echinoderms and crustaceans. Of the situation near the coast, forms of terrestrial life were present as the reptile , the insects and plants .

In the mid- ^nineteenth century , the oil shale began to be exploited in Monte San Giorgio in the idea to produce gas for lighting the city of Milan , it was then that the first fossils were discovered. Tens of thousands of fossils have been unearthed, including many species of reptiles submarines (thirty), fish. Plants and hundreds of invertebrates have been discovered. .

Classification by UNESCO

The site was designated in 2003 and extended in 2010. It has an area of 1 089.34 ha, with a buffer zone of 3 207.45 ha. It is classified under criterion (viii) in respect of wealth and preservation of fossil material ^Protection

Unscientific excavations are banned .

References

^{a , b and c} UNESCO description of the site by UNESCO , accessed 9 October 2008.
UNESCO World Heritage: Monte San Giorgio is a candidate , the site of DETEC, accessed 9 October 2009.
Labhart, Geology of Switzerland, page 107-108
UNESCO description of the site by UNESCO , Accessed October 8, 2008.
Swiss Post, Special stamp , accessed 8 October 2008.
Swiss Post, Special stamp , accessed 8 October 2008.

World Heritage in Switzerland
Cultural	Benedictine monastery of Saint-Jean-des-Soeurs (1983) Convent of St. Gall (1983) Old City of Berne (1983) Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the town of Bellinzona (2000) Lavaux vineyard terraces (2007) Rhaetian Railway in the Landscape of the Albula / Bernina (with Italy) (2008) La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle , urban watchmaker (2009)
Natural	Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch (2001) Monte San Giorgio (with Italy) (2003, 2010) Top Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona (2008)
List of World Heritage in Africa America Asia and Oceania in Europe

World Heritage in Italy
Cultural	Rock Art of Valcamonica (1979) Historic Centre of Rome , the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and St. Paul Outside the Walls (1980) (the Vatican) The Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci (1980) Historic Centre of Florence (1982) Piazza del Duomo in Pisa (1987) Venice and its Lagoon (1987) Historic Centre of San Gimignano (1990) The Sassi and the Park of the Rock Churches of Matera (1993) City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto (1994) Historic Centre of Naples (1995) Historic Centre of Siena ( 1995) Crespi d'Adda (1995) Ferrara , City of the Renaissance and its Po Delta (1995) Castel del Monte (1996) Historic Centre of the City of Pienza (1996) The Trulli of Alberobello (1996) Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna (1996) Cathedral , Torre Civica and Piazza Grande , Modena (1997) Amalfi Coast (1997) Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico) , Padua (1997) Residences of the Savoy (1997) Su Nuraxi of Barumini (1997) royal palace of the eighteenth ^century at Caserta with the Park , the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and the San Leucio (1997) Portovenere , Cinque Terre and the Islands ( Palmaria , Tino and Tinetto ) (1997) Villa Romana del Casale (1997) Archaeological Area of Agrigento (1997) Archaeological Areas of Pompei , Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (1997) Historic Centre of Urbino (1998) National Park of Cilento and Vallo Diano , with the archaeological sites of Paestum and Velia and the Certosa di Padula (1998) Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia (1998) Villa Adriana (Tivoli) (1999) Assisi , the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites (2000) City of Verona (2000) Villa d'Este , Tivoli (2001) Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South eastern Sicily) (2002) Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy (2003) Cemeteries Etruscan Cerveteri and Tarquinia (2004) Val d'Orcia (2004) Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (2005) Genoa, and the system palaces (2006 ) Rhaetian Railway in the Landscape of the Albula / Bernina (2008) (with Switzerland) Mantua and Sabbioneta (2008)
Natural	Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) (2000) Monte San Giorgio (2003)) (with Switzerland) The Dolomites (2009)
List of World Heritage in Africa America Asia and Oceania in Europe