Apuan Alps

Apuan Alps
Apuan Alps seen from Pietrasanta.
Highest point
Peak	Monte Pisanino
Elevation	1,946 m (6,385 ft)
Coordinates	44°08′01″N 10°12′52″E / 44.13361°N 10.21444°E / 44.13361; 10.21444Coordinates: 44°08′01″N 10°12′52″E / 44.13361°N 10.21444°E / 44.13361; 10.21444
Geography
Location of the Apuan Alps in Italy.
Country	Italy
State/Province	Tuscany
Parent range	Apennine Mountains
Geology
Age of rock	Triassic

The Apuan Alps (Italian: Alpi Apuane) are a mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy, part of the Apennine Mountains. They are included between the valleys of the Serchio and Magra rivers, and, to north-west, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, with a total length of approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi). The name derives from the Apuani Ligures tribe who lived here in ancient times.

The chain formed out of sea sediments in the middle Triassic period, somewhat earlier than the rest of the Apennines, and on a rather different geological structure. Over time, these sediments hardened into limestone, dolomite, sandstone, and shale. Harsh pressure approximately 25 million years ago transformed the limestone in many places into the Carrara marble (named for the nearby city of Carrara) for which the range is renowned. Erosion carved much of the remaining sedimentary rocks into a jagged karst topography.

The highest peak is the Monte Pisanino, at 1,946 metres (6,385 ft).