Mount Arcuentu and its Rocky Ridge

Mount Arcuentu is an imposing rocky ridge rising to a height of approximately 785 meters above sea level. It is located in Sardinia, in the province of Medio Campidano, and is part of a small mountain range that runs roughly parallel to a stretch of the Costa Verde, for a length of approximately 8 km. This mountain complex formed in the Tertiary era, between the Oligocene and Miocene, thanks to intense volcanic activity characterized by both acidic and basic lavas. The different types of lava gave rise to different rock types. The former include rhyolites, rhyodacites, ignimbrites, and tuffs, while the latter gave rise to basaltic rocks. Mount Arcuentu has an easily recognizable ridge, originating precisely from the type of volcanic rock it is composed of; From the summit, you can see the Sinis Peninsula, the Giara, Mount Arci, the Gulf of Oristano, the Gennargentu, the Montiferru massif, Mount Grighine, the Sette Fratelli, Mount Linas, and the Campidano plain. Numerous streams, all torrential, flow along its slopes, carving out deep, narrow valleys in the volcanic rock. Near the mountain are the Montevecchio mines, included within the boundaries of the Historical and Environmental Geomineral Park of Sardinia. Along the coast are the yellow-sand beaches and dunes of Pistis, Torre dei Corsari, and Piscinas. To the north, you can see the lagoon areas of Sant'Antonio di Santadi and Marceddì.