Close-up of the Lochsite Limestone with its kneaded structure - The image is scaled to match the original size of the rock sample.
Researchers and scientists
The Tectonic Arena Sardona UNESCO World Heritage Site, which covers an area of just under 330 km², is of exceptional educational and scientific importance.
The research history, spanning more than 200 years, is highly exceptional and characterised by differing opinions and controversial debates. These discussions led to essential insights into mountain building on Earth in general. The continuing importance of the area for geological research is telling. Even today, many geologists make the annual pilgrimage to the Tectonic Arena Sardona to study the phenomena on site.
The upper profile shows geologist Albert Heim's interpretation of the geological circumstances around 1891 with two horizontal folds (double fold). This interpretation turned out to be wrong. The lower profile shows the current, much simpler and more logical explanation: A single overthrust. (Both profiles simplified and based on Heim 1891 and 1921)
Watercolour by the well-known Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth: The Tschingelhörner and Martin's Hole; 22 July 1812