Paglia Orba

Paglia Orba
Summit, with Capu Tafunatu on its right (aerial photo)
Highest point
Elevation	2,525 m (8,284 ft)
Prominence	530 m (1,740 ft)
Isolation	4.6 km (2.9 mi)
Coordinates	42°20′33″N 8°52′43″E / 42.34250°N 8.87861°E / 42.34250; 8.87861
Geography
Paglia Orba
Country	France
Department	Haute-Corse
Parent range	Monte Cinto massif
Geology
Age of rock	Permian

The^[a][1] Paglia Orba (pronounced /ˌpa.ʎa ˈɔːr.ba/) is a mountain peak in the Monte Cinto massif in Corsica. It rises to an altitude of 2,525 metres (8,284 ft), between the valleys of the Golo (in the Niolo) and the Cavicchia (in the Filosorma). Relatively isolated, this peak, notable for its characteristic tooth-shaped silhouette, dominates the Fango Valley and the west coast of the island.

Straddling the municipalities of Albertacce and Manso, Paglia Orba is the second highest peak of the central chain and the Filosorma, behind Punta Minuta at 2,556 metres (8,386 ft).

Geography

With an altitude of 2,525 metres (8,284 ft), the Paglia Orba is located in the municipalities of Albertacce and Manso. It is nearly 200 metres (660 ft) lower than Monte Cinto. The Golo, the longest river in Corsica, rises at its feet.

On its slopes at an altitude of 1,384 metres (4,541 ft) the Ruisseau Orba rises in the communal forest of Albertacce, which is a monoculture of laricio pines.

Geology

Unlike the other summits of the Cinto massif, which are formed mainly of volcanic rocks, the Paglia Orba is made up of sandstone and conglomerates^[2] (puddingstone) with some boulders exceeding 1 cubic metre (35 cu ft) in size.

These sedimentary rocks accumulated during the Permian-Triassic within a vast zone of volcanic collapse (a lake occupying a caldera), before being raised to altitude then largely destroyed by erosion during the tertiary era.^[3][4] Only a few rare vestiges of this sedimentary filling remain today, including the Paglia Orba preserved on the southwestern edge of this caldera.

Access

The normal access road to the summit is somewhere between hiking and mountaineering. From the Ciottulu a i Mori refuge, a path leads to the Col des Maures (Moorish Pass) and then up a very steep corridor on the western slope of the Paglia Orba. The route marked by cairns then overlooks a cliff to reach a first summit, separated from the true summit by a ravine called "combe des Chèvres". Other steep routes exist on the south side (vertical fractures or chimneys) but require experience in climbing.^[5]

Experienced hikers and mountaineers can also complete the tour of the Paglia Orba^[6] by crossing the "Geologists' Breach", named in memory of a geologist who died there,^[7][8]) and the "Sphinx Breach", near a characteristic looking rock block.

Climbing

The dizzying faces and ridges of this "queen of the Corsican mountains" offer climbers a multitude of routes rated “AD” to “ED”.^[9]

• 
  The Paglia Orba seen from the Pont des 5 Arcades (D81) in Galéria, above the Fango valley.
• 
  La Paglia Orba (left) seen from the Lac de Calacuccia. In the middle, Monte Cintu.

Notes

Sources