The sediments of the Tethys Ocean were uplifted to the heights of over 3,000 metres of the present Dolomites by the collision of the African plate against the Eurasian plate; their endowment of fossil evidence is incredibly rich and legendary. The alternate stratification of soft sediments and sedimentary rock of great depth led to the formation of very high walls with forks,
chimneys, gullies, towers, and spires of all shapes which are the distinctive mark of the unique landscape of the Dolomites which falls within the UNESCO World Heritage.
The extensive chapter of the geological history from the Triassic to the Cretaceous and later Alpine orogenesis, the chapter dealing with the morphogenesis and the ice ages, can be easily read in the mountainscapes of the Ampezzo Dolomites. Expansive Karstic plateaux, high rock walls and Dolomite towers together with deep gorges characterize the Ampezzo mountains, whose geological history is told in the Palaeontological Museum of the Regole, dedicated to its creator: Rinaldo Zardini.