Which mountain range contains the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape in northeastern Italy?

The Dolomites are part of the Southern Limestone Alps.

The Southern Limestone Alps form a mountain system running across northeastern Italy and parts of Slovenia and Austria. They are made largely of limestone and related carbonate rocks, which produce steep towers, pale cliffs, pinnacles, and deeply cut valleys. The Dolomites are the best-known section of this system.

The Dolomites received UNESCO World Heritage status in 2009 because of their exceptional geological and scenic value. Their rock formations preserve evidence of ancient marine environments: much of the limestone was deposited in tropical seas during the Triassic Period, more than 200 million years ago.

A common mix-up is treating the Dolomites as a completely separate major range. “Dolomites” identifies the distinctive Italian mountain group, while the Southern Limestone Alps is the broader geographic classification. The name dolomite comes from the mineral dolomite, named after French geologist Déodat de Dolomieu.