Passo di Verra area (Zwillingsjoch area), Champoluc, Ayas, Aosta Valley, Italyi
Regional Level Types | |
---|---|
Passo di Verra area (Zwillingsjoch area) | Area |
Champoluc | Village |
Ayas | Commune |
Aosta Valley | Autonomous Region |
Italy | - not defined - |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
45° 55' 30'' North , 7° 47' 18'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Mindat Locality ID:
72342
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:72342:3
GUID (UUID V4):
421846bb-408a-40d9-8981-5a5bb8f9fbc4
Name(s) in local language(s):
Area del Passo di Verra (Région du Col de Verra; Zwillingsjochgebiet), Champoluc, Ayas, Val d'Ayas, Valle d'Aosta (Vallée d'Aoste), Italia
This pass (3845 m a.s.l.), located on the border between Aosta Valley (Italy) and Valais (Switzerland), separates Polluce/Pollux (4092 m) from Castore/Castor (4223 m), the two twin peaks collectively known as "I Gemelli" (Italian), "Die Zwillinge" (German) or "Les Jumeaux" (French).
From a geological point of view, the area around the pass is highly complex, because exactly at Passo di Verra/Zwillingsjoch the Penninic Monte Rosa nappe, a fragment of European continental crust, is in tectonic contact with a serpentinised mantle slice of the ophiolitic Zermatt-Saas nappe, a relict of the Mesozoic Tethys oceanic lithosphere.
The serpentinised slice, consisting of magnetite-bearing antigorite serpentinite with lenses and veins rich in reddish titanclinohumite, diopside and olivine, forms the Polluce/Pollux-Breithorn-Gobba di Rollin range (Swiss-Italian divide) and the western sector of the Verra glacial cirque.
The underlying Monte Rosa nappe forms Castore/Castor and the eastern part of the Verra glacial cirque. In spite of polyphase Alpine metamorphism (eclogitic and later greenschist facies), two groups of protoliths (a pre-granitic and a granitic complex) are identified (Bearth, 1952; Dal Piaz, 1971, 2001, and 2004). They are well preserved in a large low-strain domain which extends between Piccolo Ghiacciaio di Verra and Pian di Verra Superiore (Plan de Verra Supérieur), through the western crest of Punta Perazzi, where Alpine structural reworking was relatively weak. The pre-granitic metamorphic complex is represented by high-grade pelitic paragneiss and anatectic migmatite, including concordant-to-discordant cordierite-bearing pegmatites.
The granitic complex is represented by a granitic-granodioritic pluton, often porphyric, leucocratic granite in discordant stocks and concordant intrusions, and younger aplitic and pegmatitic dykes, locally preserving their primary features in the low-strain domain. The intrusion age is inferred from U-Pb SHRIMP dating of zircon (270 ± 4 Ma) and monazite (268 ± 2 Ma) (Lange et al., 2000).
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) |
ⓘ Diopside Formula: CaMgSi2O6 |
ⓘ Grossular Formula: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
ⓘ Grossular var. Hessonite Formula: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
ⓘ Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
ⓘ 'Monazite' Formula: REE(PO4) |
ⓘ Prehnite Formula: Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
ⓘ Pyrrhotite Formula: Fe1-xS |
ⓘ Rutile Formula: TiO2 |
ⓘ Vesuvianite Formula: Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
---|---|---|---|
ⓘ | Pyrrhotite | 2.CC.10 | Fe1-xS |
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
ⓘ | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
ⓘ | Rutile | 4.DB.05 | TiO2 |
Group 9 - Silicates | |||
ⓘ | Grossular | 9.AD.25 | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
ⓘ | var. Hessonite | 9.AD.25 | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
ⓘ | Vesuvianite | 9.BG.35 | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
ⓘ | Diopside | 9.DA.15 | CaMgSi2O6 |
ⓘ | Prehnite | 9.DP.20 | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Unclassified | |||
ⓘ | 'Monazite' | - | REE(PO4) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
H | Hydrogen | |
---|---|---|
H | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
H | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
O | Oxygen | |
O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
O | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
O | ⓘ Grossular | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
O | ⓘ Grossular var. Hessonite | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
O | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
O | ⓘ Monazite | REE(PO4) |
O | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
O | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
O | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
Na | Sodium | |
Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Mg | Magnesium | |
Mg | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
Mg | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
Al | Aluminium | |
Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Al | ⓘ Grossular | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
Al | ⓘ Grossular var. Hessonite | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
Al | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
Al | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
Si | Silicon | |
Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Si | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
Si | ⓘ Grossular | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
Si | ⓘ Grossular var. Hessonite | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
Si | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
Si | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
P | Phosphorus | |
P | ⓘ Monazite | REE(PO4) |
S | Sulfur | |
S | ⓘ Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
Ca | Calcium | |
Ca | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
Ca | ⓘ Grossular | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
Ca | ⓘ Grossular var. Hessonite | Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 |
Ca | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
Ca | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
Ti | Titanium | |
Ti | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
Fe | Iron | |
Fe | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
Fe | ⓘ Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
Fe | ⓘ Vesuvianite | Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
EuropeContinent
- The AlpsMountain Range
- Monte Rosa massifMassif
Italy
- Aosta Valley
- Ayas ValleyValley
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