BLACK HOCKEY JERSEYS

The Dolomites are a section of the Alps. They are located for the most part in the province of Belluno, the rest in the provinces of Bolzano-Bozen and Trento (all in north-eastern Italy). Conventionally they extend from the Adige river in the west to the Piave valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley (Val Sugana). But the Dolomites spread also over the Piave river (Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave) to the east; and far away over the Adige river to the west is the Brenta Group (Western Dolomites); there is also another smaller group called Piccole Dolomiti (Small Dolomites) located between the Provinces of Trento and Vicenza (see the map).

One national park and many other regional parks are located in the Dolomites. In August 2009, the Dolomites has been declared natural heritage of the UNESCO.

The region is commonly divided into the Western (Dolomiti di Brenta) and Eastern Dolomites, separated by a line following the Valle dell'Adige. The range includes more than 40 glaciers.

The name "Dolomites" is derived from the famous French mineralogist Deodat Gratet de Dolomieu who was the first to describe the rock, dolomite, a type of carbonate rock which is responsible for the characteristic shapes and colour of these mountains; previously they were called the "pallid mountains," and it was only in the early nineteenth century that the name was Frenchified.

A tourist mecca, the Dolomites are famous for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing, daily excursions, climbing and Base Jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding in summer and late spring/early autumn.[citation needed] Free climbing has been a tradition in the Dolomites since 1887, when 17-year-old Georg Winkler soloed the first ascent of the pinnacle Die Vajoletturme.[1] The main centres include: Rocca Pietore alongside the Marmolada glacier, which lies on the border of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol and Veneto regions, the small towns of Alleghe, Falcade, Auronzo, Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the villages of Arabba, Urtijei and San Martino di Castrozza, as well as the whole of the Fassa, Gardena and Badia Valleys.

In the first week in July, the Maratona dles Dolomites, an annual single-day road bicycle racing race covering seven mountain passes of the Dolomites, is staged.

Approaching Drei Zinne, Lavaredo, Dolomites, Italy