Bozen Quartz Porphyry
Volcanism in South Tyrol? Yes, of course – more than 275 million years ago! Mighty lava flows reached the Earth's surface and covered an area of approx. 2,500 square km in the center of South Tyrol.
As a consequence of the weathering (erosion) of the (at that time) recent volcanic landscape, sediments were formed. The so-called Grödner Sandstone formed, unique outcroppings of which can be seen e.g. in the Bletterbachschlucht (the "Grand Canyon" of South Tyrol).