Monte della Guardia

Monte della Guardia
View from Forte Pozzanghi (Colle di Nava)
Highest point
Elevation	1,658 m (5,440 ft)
Prominence	88[1]
Coordinates	44°07′19″N 7°55′47″E
Naming
English translation	Mountain of the guard
Language of name	Italian
Geography
Monte della Guardia Location in the Alps
Location	Piedmont, Italy
Parent range	Ligurian Alps
Geology
Rock age	Triassic
Mountain type	limestone
Climbing
First ascent	ancestral
Easiest route	hike from Colle di Caprauna

The Monte della Guardia is a mountain in Piedmont, northern Italy, part of the Alps. At an altitude of 1,658 metres is one of the highest summits of the Ligurian Prealps.

Geography

Summit cairn.

The mountain stands on the main chain of the Alps between Tanaro and Arroscia valleys. It belongs to the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont, and is located on the border between the municipalities of Ormea and Caprauna, not faraway from Liguria.[2]

SOIUSA classification

According to the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain can be classified in the following way:[3]

• main part = Western Alps
• major sector = South Western Alps
• section = Ligurian Alps
• subsection = Prealpi Liguri
• supergroup = Catena Settepani-Carmo-Armetta
• group = Gruppo Galero-Armetta
• subgroup = Costiera Galero-Armetta
• code = I/A-1.I-A.3.a

Geology

Summit cross

The area of Monte della Guardia is characterized by triassic limestone.[4] Towards monte Armetta, on the slopes facing the Tanaro valley, stands a large cave known as Grotta dei Dighè[5] or Garb del Dighea. It was surveyed at the end of the 19th century by entomologists that detected an interesting troglofauna with Plectogona sanfilippoi, subsp. Digheae, an arthropod endemic of Tanaro valley.[6][4]

Environment

The northern side of the mountain fells with overhanging cliffs towards the valley of Tanaro river, while its gentler southern slopes are mainly covered of woods.

Access to the summit

The summit can be easily reached with a short diversion from the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, a long-distance trail from Ventimiglia (province of Imperia) to Bolano (province of La Spezia) which flancks the mountain on its Ligurian Sea side.[7] In wintertime the northern slopes of Monte della Guardia offer some interesting icefalls.[8]

References

1. Key Col: Colla Bassa, 1570 m
2. 1:25.000 map of Istituto Geografico Militare (IGM), on-line on www.pcn.minambiente.it
3. Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.
4. Bollettino del Club alpino italiano (in Italian). 1900. p. 86. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
5. AA.VV. (1927). Le grotte d'Italia organo ufficiale dell'azienda autonoma di Stato delle R. Grotte demaniali di Postumia (in Italian). Mondaini. p. 116. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
6. "Colle di Caprauna - Monte Armetta" (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-06-04.
7. "Monte della Guardia (m. 1654), Monte Armetta (m. 1739), M. Dubasso (m. 1538) da Caprauna" (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-06-04.
8. Sertori, Mario (2004). "Valle Tanaro". Cascatea (in Italian). BLU Edizioni. p. 69. ISBN 9788887417951. Retrieved 2019-06-04.

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