Balze, Volterra

The crags of Volterra are rock formations located near the town of the same name, on the southwestern slope of the Volterra hill, between the Cecina Valley and the Era Valley.

The typical features of this geotope are determined by the geomorphological peculiarities of this area, which is affected by numerous landslides and widespread forms of erosion typical of clay soils. This phenomenon is progressively increased by the permeability of the sands belonging to the Villamagna Formation, which determine a rapid infiltration of meteoric waters up to the level of the clays creating spectacular morphological situations, namely the vertical walls generated by the collapses that give rise to the typical cliff morphology, with gullies below.

The area covered by the Volterra crags covers an area of 88.86 hectares.