Campo Imperatore in Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park during summertime
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Campo Imperatore in Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park during summertime

by Frederik Tack, Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium

Campo Imperatore, known as Italy's "Little Tibet" is a mountain grassland or alpine meadow formed by a high basin shaped plateau located in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy in the Gran Sasso massif. It is the largest plateau of the Apennine ridge. Campo Imperatore has a tectonic origin shaped by alluviums and glaciers. The plateau, which is 27 km in length and an average of 8 km in width, lies adjacent to the Apennines' highest peak Corno Grande, and Europe's southernmost glacier, the Calderone.