Valle Infernale
The Valle Infernale is a part of the High Aspromonte State Forest within Aspromonte National Park, a complex terrain of mountain peaks and plateaus.
It is characterised by a gradient of natural vegetation following the altitudinal belts from the thermo-Mediterranean wild olive-carob forests and Meso-Mediterranean holm oak forests to warmth-loving oak forests, mountain black pine forests, and to beech forests with fir. This vegetation complex contains many endemic (Calabrian) and sub-endemic (Calabrian-Sicilian) plant species. The area includes pure and mixed beech stands, unexploited in the last 50 years due to its remoteness; it is mostly covered by patches of early transition old-growth forests with large beech, fir, oak, maple, and pine trees that are up to 200 – 400 years old. The strict reserve is almost surrounded by sub-Mediterranean and thermophilus beech forests at the lowest elevations, while pure beech stands of mountain environments characterise cooler aspects.
Profile
- UNESCO recognition: 2021
- Protected area: Aspromonte National Park
- Beech forest region: Central Mediterranean
- Area: 390.79 ha
- Number of component parts: 1
- Altitudinal range: montane (1,127–1,537 m above sea level)
- Fauna: Wolf, European wildcat, Golden eagle, Black woodpecker, Calabrian black squirrel, Forest dormouse, Yellow-bellied toad, various species of bats
- Coordinates of the Central Point: N 38° 7’ 55’’, E 15° 57’ 41’
Parco Nazionale dell'Aspromonte
http://www.parks.it/parco.nazionale.aspromonte/Eindex.php