In the southern portion of the Apennines (beyond the Pollino area), the chain changes its geological structure and becomes much narrower. This section is composed of raised blocks of crystalline rocks (granites, granodiorites, gneisses, and metamorphosed schists). With the zone there are four main blocks. There is a narrow high coastal chain of 1,000-1,800 m in height. There is the Sila plateau of 1,0001,400 m (locally beyond 1,900 m), covered by slow-moving streams that drop off the uplands at their edges. South of Catanzaro there are the Serre uplands, with a rugged surface at 1,000-1,400 m asl. Finally, the Aspromonte forms the southern limit of the Italian peninsula. Terraces (pianalti) at c.1400 m asl of uncertain origin and incised by mountain streams are a characteristic feature of this mountain range clustered around the central mountain uplands. All these Calabrian mountains are typified by short and violent seasonal streams which carry considerable debris during flood phases. Pliocene marine deposits flank the uplands both to the east and west and penetrate up some of the valleys.
The Sibari embayment is a rare example on this coastline where the narrow coastal strip suddenly widens into a more ample open area.19 The bay is very well defined by prominent coastal capes to the north (Capo Spulico) and to the south (Capo Trionto). Two principal watercourses, the Coscile and the Crati, unite just before the Ionian coast; to the north and south of these small rivers are other smaller streams which have contributed to the considerable buildup of sediment in the area. All these streams are typically violent, seasonal, and erosive in their force. They also divide the landscape into a series of small territories. A series of elevated Pleistocene terraces surround the embayment at between 80 and 200 m asl. Behind these terraces lie the low hill country of between 400 and 500 m asl, in the inner part made of degraded flysch, in the outer part made of sandy conglomerates. Towering over this zone further behind are the high massifs of the Apennines, cut by gorges which carry the major rivers. These are made up of the characteristic very hard, metamorphic, and igneous rocks of the region: schists, gneiss, granites. Today the local soils in the uplands are very thin and degraded, as a result of extensive clearance; only the hill country of sandy conglomerates and the plain itself offer a better quality of soil for agriculture.
World History
