Langkofel Group
| Langkofel Group | |
|---|---|
The Langkofel Group against the evening skies.
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| Highest point | |
| Peak | Langkofel |
| Elevation | 3,181 m (10,436 ft) |
| Geography | |
| State | Trentino-Südtirol, Italy |
| Range coordinates | 46°31′N 11°44′E / 46.52°N 11.74°ECoordinates: 46°31′N 11°44′E / 46.52°N 11.74°E |
| Parent range | Dolomites |
The Langkofel Group (Italian: Gruppo del Sassolungo) is a massif in the (western) Dolomites. It separates Gröden (to the north) and the Fassa valley (to the south), as well as the Sella massif (to the east) and the Rosengarten (to the west). Northwest of the Langkofel is the Seiser Alm. The highest point in the range is the eponymous Langkofel with a height of 3,181 metres. Taken together, the summits of the Langkofel form an arc which is only open towards the northwest. Within this arc there is only one small mountain, the Langkofelkarspitze, so that the group surrounds a kind of "inner courtyard".
The region was formed in the early Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) as a coral reef in a shallow tropical sea. Hard limestone was able to form on the outside of the reef, whilst the rock in the interior remained brittle and was quickly eroded away following the uplifting of the range. This left a garland of mountains which, in a clockwise direction, are the Langkofel, Langkofeleck, Fünffingerspitze, Grohmannspitze, Innerkoflerturm, Zahnkofel and Plattkofel.
Langkofel Group, labelled
Aerial photograph of the Langkofel Group
The group seen from the Plans de Cunfin
In Summer a gondola lift runs from Sellajoch up to the col of Langkofelscharte and the Toni Demetz refuge hut. From there both the Langkofel (via the Langkofel Hut, Confinböden and the Emilio Comici Hut), as well as the Plattkofel (via the Langkofel Hut, Plattkofel Hut and Frederick Augustus Way) may be circled on hiking trails. The Plattkofel may be reached from the Langkofelkar on the klettersteig route known as the Oskar Schuster Steig and from the Plattkofel Hut over the steep western flank (here without climbing). Between the Langkofel and the Sellajoch is the area of rockslides known as the "Rocky Town" (Steinernen Stadt), notable especially for its rich flora.
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Wikipedia