Geomorphology of the Agri intermontane basin (val d'Agri-Lagonegrese National Park, Southern Italy)

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to show the most important landforms of the Agri intermontane basin, a large continental tectonic trough included within the Val d'Agri-Lagonegrese National Park, southern Italy. The map was produced using aerial photo interpretation and field survey at a 1:25,000 scale and is composed of a main geomorphological map and three smaller submaps that provide more information on the geology of the basin. The geomorphological map includes seven groups of landforms, each of them modelled by a different surface process that worked on both the Mesozoic to Cenozoic bedrock and Quaternary clastic successions of the Agri basin. Based on the dominant morphogenetic process active in the past, the landforms have been grouped as follows: (1) structurally controlled and tectonic landforms; (2) fluvial landforms; (3) karst and fluvio-karst landforms; (4) gravity-induced landforms; (5) glacial landforms; (6) anthropogenetic landforms; (7) polygenetic landforms. These landforms allow discrimination of the main geomorphic processes that have worked on the basin and have provided information about long- to short-term landscape evolution since the Pliocene. The map can be a useful tool for studies on landscape evolution, hazard evaluation, and land management of a drainage basin, and in the production of planning guidelines of the protected area.