4. A shallow sea

Some 251-246 million years ago – the early Triassic era

The sea continued to advance and retreat over the ancient plain. The Dolomites became a mainly shallow sea area in which life gradually began to flourish again after the mass extinction event. As the sea gradually became deeper there was room for abundant sediment to collect on the sea floor.

The Dolomite region was invaded by the sea and over time cyclical variations in the sea level were recorded, making the coastline advance and retreat repeatedly. This sea was not deep and it contained ample deposits of sand and mud. At times the conditions were created for the deposit of carbonate banks in the form of crusts that would later become limestone and dolomite rock. As the entire region sunk, this subsidence made room for a great deal of material to accumulate on the bottom of this primordial sea, part of the Triassic Tethys Ocean. Here can be found evidence of the gradual recovery of life after the mass Permian-Triassic extinction event.

Text by Dolomiti Project

Some rocks and fossils from this era