Magic Foglio 03 Genoa — Map (OpenData)

Sheet 3 includes the central part of the Gulf of Genoa, which, in turn, represents the culmination of the so-called “Ligurian Arch”. The continental shelf consists of a larger prograding sedimentary prism in front of Genoa and gradually reducing towards O. The continental escarpment west of Genoa prolongs the sedimentary prism of the platform. The areas are mainly represented by canyons (CAN); from the west we meet part of the Canyons of Varigott), Spotorno, and Vado Ligure, which develop mainly in Foglio 2, just before their confluence. The two canyons of Genoa are among the most well-known and developed in the western Mediterranean; they are named after the streams that flow in front of their heads: in O the Polcevera Canyon, at E the Canyon of Bisagno and are engraved in a powerful Plio-Pleistocene succession at the base of which emerges evaporitic levels. The Bisagno Canyon receives from E the Levante Canyon which flows at 90°, giving the talweg its own characteristics. The two canyons converge in a tectonic depression, called Valle di Genova, where the Foglio 2 canyons are also channeled. The characteristics of the canyons’ warheads within the platform, their maximum extensions, the minimum distances from the coast and the minimum depths, are not known in sufficient detail, they are indicated as alleged critical points, while the ascertained criticalities concern only the Canyon and the landslide of Portofino, also falling in Sheet 4.