Fondali di Capo Tirone

The Capo Tirone Seabed site borders a stretch of seabed which is located in the waters off the territory of the Municipality of Belvedere Marittimo. Extensive cliffs characterize the area and its seabeds, similar to the rest of the northern Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, are affected by coarse sandstone rocks that can be seen emerging in the Capo Tirone area. Below sea level, complex sedimentation processes occur due to wave action and marine currents. Sediments from the rivers that first feed the beaches along the coast are altered and transported offshore onto the continental shelf, which extends several kilometers out to sea. The seabeds are populated by well-preserved Posidonia oceanica meadows, which are chacaracterized by an high biodiversity. The meadows are used as a nursery for fish, including commercially valuable species, and for the protection of the coastline from erosion.