UNESCO World Heritage

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona

How mountains form

The collision between Africa and Europe caused the formation of the Alps millions of years ago. Layers of rock were pushed on top of one another, folded and broken. Along the so-called “Glarus main thrust fault”, a line that can now be seen from afar, layers of rock that were 250-300 million years old were pushed together with much younger rocks that were 35-50 million years old. There is nowhere else where the traces of these tremendous forces are so visible as in the mountain landscape around Piz Sardona in the border region of the cantons of St. Gallen, Glarus and Grisons. The area has great value for schools and research. It is of great interest to hikers and nature lovers too.

Factsheet
Date of Inscription

2008

Criteria of Inscription

viii

Category

Natural Heritage

Region

Glarus, Grisons and St. Gall

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Museum
Tectonic Arena Sardona
A highlight at the visitor pavilion is the view of the lower Segnesboden and the Tschingelhörner with the Martinsloch. In the pavilion, the features of mountain ...
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Panoramic Route
Tectonic Arena Sardona
The Tschinglen cable car, the only cable car that takes you right into the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, takes you from June to ...
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Visitor centre
Tectonic Arena Sardona
The Glarnerland Visitor Centre, with its two locations in Glarus (in the Nature Centre, train station building) and Elm (in the old school building, Sandgasse 1, ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
Nowhere in the world are the phenomena of mountain formation more visible than in the border area of the cantons of St. Gallen, Glarus and Graubünden. The 84-km ...
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Museum
Tectonic Arena Sardona
With a tour through the exciting exhibitions in the Alpine Museum Braunwald you will experience the fascination of the Glarus mountains. Experience 300 million years ...
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Museum
Tectonic Arena Sardona
The Sarganserland Museum is located in the tower of Sargans Castle. Spread over the six floors of the tower, you can learn everything about the history, the crafts, ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
Fairytale forest, mysterious lakes and gigantic Rhine gorge. The Trin-Flims-Laax-Sagogn area is home to the largest landslide area in the Alps. During an easy ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
One of the most popular hikes in Switzerland. Five crystal clear mountain lakes and glimpses of the Tectonic Arena Sardona characterize this route. The 5-lake ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
Embedded in a wildly romantic mountain basin are the three Murg lakes. Streams, lakes, waterfalls, rock gardens and a protected Swiss stone pine forest reserve characterize ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
On the way to sites of stone quarrying, glass and iron smelting and prehistory. The Mels Geoweg leads through the village center of Mels as well as through relaxing ...
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Museum
Tectonic Arena Sardona
In a former bunker on the Escher canal near Näfels, the Linth Escher Foundation has set up an exhibition to pay tribute to Hans Conrad Escher. He is the builder ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
In the unique landscape of the UNESCO World Heritage Tectonic Arena Sardona lies peacefully the former Walser settlement of Sankt Martin. From 1346 to 1653, the ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
Lined up like a string of pearls, the whirlpools on Alp Mora form veritable bathtubs. Sand and gravel have been grinding against the gray limestone rock ribs with ...
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Hikes
Tectonic Arena Sardona
A research trip to the impressive geology and its diverse phenomena in the Tectonic Arena Sardona. Learn interesting facts about the formation of the Alps, ...
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Museum
Tectonic Arena Sardona
Near the church of Elm, is the slate factory. After slate production ceased in 1983, the "Stiftung pro Elm" acquired the historic factory buildings with ...
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Attraction
Tectonic Arena Sardona
In the Tamina valley along the road between Pfäfers and Vadura, the Windegg information point is located on a landscape terrace. In addition to the great view ...
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Museum
Tectonic Arena Sardona
An experience is the visit and guided tour in the Landesplattenberg Engi, the old slate mine in the Sernftal. A slide show inside the mountain (11 °C) illustrates, ...
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Attraction
Tectonic Arena Sardona
The stone path of the Knobel AG company symbolically represents the canton of Glarus: in the west of the site there are rocks from the Wiggis, Glärnisch, Ortstock ...
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