Those watching the Winter Olympics from Italy, may have heard that the skiing events are being held in The Dolomites. This range, in northeast Italy, lies within the Southern Limestone Region of the Alps.
Most of the land that is now Italy became part of Northern Africa when the Tethys Sea opened, some 200 million years ago, separating Europe and Africa. When that Sea closed, beginning 50 million years ago, Italy was Africa's leading point as it drifted northward and rammed into Europe, lifting the Alps and associated ranges in the process; marine sediments from the Tethys thus form the southern edge of the Alps. In areas where the sediments were rich in magnesium, the limestone took the form of dolomite (calcium-magnesium-carbonate).
Dolomite is found in many limestone formations across the globe. Of interest to those of us in Missouri, it is widespread in the Ordovician limestone of the Ozarks.
See also: Italy and Africa and Oil and the Tethys Sea
