Euganean Hills (Euganei Hills), Padova Province, Veneto, Italyi

Regional Level Types
Euganean Hills (Euganei Hills)	Group of Hills
Padova Province	Province
Veneto	Region
Italy	Country

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The Euganean Hills or Euganei Hills, the only heights of the entire province of Padova (Padua), are a group of hills that rise to heights of 300 to 600 m from the Venetian plain a few km south of the city of Padua.

The geology of the Euganean Hills is dominated by two rock series: a Late Jurassic to Early Oligocene marine sedimentary sequence, mainly composed of limestone and marl, and a series of volcanic and subvolcanic products, diversified in both space and time (Schiavinato, 1944, 1950, and 1952; Piccoli, 1966; Caneda et al., 1969; Sedea & Di Lallo, 1973; Piccoli et al., 1981).

From bottom to top the sedimentary sequence includes: the Late Jurassic Rosso Ammonitico Veronese lithostratigraphic unit, consisting of red ammonite-bearing nodular limestones (it can only be observed in a limited area near Fontanafredda, Cinto Euganeo); the Early Cretaceous Scaglia Variegata (called Biancone by older authors), consisting of an irregular sequence of micritic marly limestones, calcareous marls, and clay marls (reddish or white-greenish in colour); the Scaglia Rossa, a reddish micritic limestone of Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene age; the Euganean Marl, a greyish-green clayey rock of Late Eocene-Early Oligocene age (it is primarily observed in the area of Teolo).

The igneous rocks represent the most recent magmatic manifestation within the Palaeocene-Late Oligocene Venetian Volcanic Province (e.g. De Vecchi et al., 1974, 1976; Macera et al., 2003; Sassi et al., 2004; Beccaluva et al., 2007). Volcanic activity covered a 30-Ma time-span, from Late Palaeocene to Late Oligocene, and developed during the Alpine orogenesis in the Southern Alps (e.g. Borsi et al., 1969; De Vecchi & Saeda, 1974; and other authors). The older event is Late Eocene in age (42 ± 1.5 Ma, Borsi et al., 1969) with the emplacement of submarine mafic lavas in the typical forms of pillow lavas, breccias, hyaloclastites (e.g. Kokelaar, 1986; Cas, 1992); the younger event is Oligocene in age (33 ± 1 Ma, Borsi et al., 1969; 32 ± 3.5 Ma and 34 ± 2 Ma, Zantedeschi, 1994) and is characterised by the emplacement of intermediate to silicic volcanic and sub-volcanic rocks (e.g. domes, plugs, laccoliths, and dykes). The most representative rock types of the Euganean Hills are rhyolite, slightly alkaline and only rarely peralkaline, and trachyte; latite and basalt occur in minor amounts.

Contact metamorphic rocks are broadly found only at two localities: Case Berton quarry near Faedo (Cinto Euganeo) and Monte delle Basse (near Galzignano Terme).

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

72 valid minerals. 1 (TL) - type locality of valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities