Sabbie gialle - Yellow sands

Parco delle Acque Minerali, entrance from via Kennedy and Via Galli

For information: Servizio Gestione Urbanistica - Ambiente tel.0542.602283
Visiting hours: always open
Admission: Free

The Sabbie Gialle (Yellow Sands) are also called the sands of Imola because the local ones were the first to be studied. They get their name from their yellow colour which is due to the iron oxide present in the sands. They are the remains of the fossil beach which outlined all the north Apennine hills about one million years ago when an inlet covered all the area which is today known as the Pianura Padana.

The surrounding lands were populated by hippopotamuses, elephants and rhinoceroses as the studies of Giuseppe Scarabelli revealed. Today it is possible to see large areas of yellow sand at the foot of Monte Castellaccio, which rises in the centre of the Park "Acque Minerali". Since May 2000 it has been possible to follow a geological study path with information panels, characterised with the logo of an elephant. The various stops of the path are in accordance with the most significant areas of yellow sands.