Paglia Orba

Calasima, at 1,095 metres (3,593 ft) the highest village in Corsica

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.

Permian conglomerates and arkosic sandstones of the Paglia Orba

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.

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.