The structure of the folds on the Mürtschenstock (2441 m) illustrates the immeasurable forces of mountain building
How Mountains Form
In the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tectonic Arena Sardona, the diverse and primordial processes of mountain building can be witnessed and even touched in nature in a vivid and globally unique way.
(1) Young rock is usually deposited on top of older rock. This creates layers of rock that come to lie on top of each other.
(2) When continental plates move towards each other, thrusts form (red line) and entire packages of rock are sheared from their base, thrust over and folded.
(3) The consequences are dramatic: The earth’s crust thickens, causing it to rise to become a mountain range, and at the same time it begins to erode and form valleys. This is how the thrust can rise to the earth’s surface and – in a lucky case like in the Sardona World Heritage Site – become visible in the terrain as a sharp divide.
The Glarus Thrust is clearly visible on the Foostock between Elm and the Weisstannental (2611 m a.s.l.).
World Heritage at your fingertips: Lochsite near Sool / Schwanden