Monte Grappa

Monte Grappa
Southern Flank of Monte Grappa
Highest point
Elevation	1,775 m (5,823 ft)
Prominence	1,456 m (4,777 ft)
Coordinates	45°52′24″N 11°47′57″E / 45.87333°N 11.79917°E / 45.87333; 11.79917Coordinates: 45°52′24″N 11°47′57″E / 45.87333°N 11.79917°E / 45.87333; 11.79917
Geography
Monte Grappa Location in the Alps
Location	Veneto, Italy
Parent range	Venetian Prealps

Monte Grappa (1,775 m) is a mountain of the Venetian Prealps in Veneto, Italy. It lies between the Venetian plain to the south and the central alpine areas to the North. To the west, it is parted from the Asiago upland by the Brenta river, and to the east it is separated from the Cesen-Visentin massif by the Piave river. To the north lie Corlo lake and Feltre valley. In the past, the mountain was called Alpe Madre (Mother Alp), and is currently divided among three provinces: Vicenza to the west, Treviso to the south and Belluno to the northeast. It is the highest peak of a small massif, which also includes many other peaks such as Col Moschin, Colle della Berretta, Monte Asolone, Monte Pertica, Prassolan, Monti Solaroli, Fontana Secca, Monte Peurna, Monte Santo, Monte Tomatico, Meatte, Monte Pallon and Monte Tomba.

The Grappa Massif was formed almost ten million years ago. It was created by the collision between the African and European lithospheric plates. Over the millennia, these sediments have been interested by a cementification and then they were lifted up by pressures that caused the Alpine mountain range to rise. Nowadays, the main types of rocks found on the Grappa are:

Furthermore, over the centuries, different external atmospheric pressures have modified the morphological structure of the Grappa massif.

Due to its geographic position near the Venetian plain, the Monte Grappa area is very rich in both flowers and plants. In fact, its climatic conditions has favoured the prevalence of small Mediterranean scrub bushes and alpine vegetation that is composed mostly of conifers in the snowy areas. Typical trees and bushes on Monte Grappa include Mount Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Lime tree (Tilia platyphyllos) with various geophytes underneath, the White Fir tree (Abies concolor), the spruce fir and the beech tree. Typical forest flowers include; Dandelion (Leontodon tenuiflorus), Knautia persicina, Globularia nudicaulis, Wild Peony (Paeonia officinalis), the Cengio iris (Iris cengialti),soldanella and clematis. Typical pasture grasses include;Festuca paniculata and Helictotrichon parlatorei, and on the cliffs, Minuartia graminifolia can be found.