Monte San Giorgio World Heritage Site

Official name
Monte San Giorgio | UNESCO
Country
Italy | Map
Continent
Europe
Location
45.8888° Lat, 8.9138° Lon | Map
Code
1090
Time Zone
Europe/Rome (CET, +0100)
Current Time
Category
Natural
Description
Inscribed 2003. The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environment, sheltered and partially separated from the open sea by an offshore reef. Diverse marine life flourished within this lagoon, including reptiles, fish, bivalves, ammonites, echinoderms and crustaceans. Because the lagoon was near land, the remains also include land-based fossils of reptiles, insects and plants, resulting in an extremely rich source of fossils.