Hiking on the new geology trail in Malbun — On the geology trail in Malbun you will find 16 exciting stations... | © Liechtenstein Marketing

Vacation in the Principality of Liechtenstein
Aeulestrasse 30
9490 Vaduz

The principality with its 160km² offers unique experiences around the topic of geology. Come with us on a dive into the past of the LiechtenSteine.

Most of the rocks of the Alps were formed in a sea that no longer exists today, the Tethys Sea. This was formed when the supercontinent Pangaea broke into two continents about 250 million years ago. In between, new oceanic crust formed, the sea expanded, and marine debris accumulated in it. The fragments of Pangaea broke into further parts. These are the continents we know. These are still moving today. The speed moved since time immemorial around few centimeters per year and is hardly recognizable for humans.

This process, known as continental drift, creates mountain ranges. About 30 million years ago, the Tethys Sea began to disappear due to the collision of Europe with the Adriatic continental plate, on which Italy lies. In the process, the seafloor was pushed together and lifted up in the form of huge rock packages called mountain sheets. This is how the sea floor became the Alps. They are still growing today at a rate of just under one millimeter per year.

the geological formation of the Alps — The geology trail in Malbun

The Alps in Liechtenstein

In the region around Liechtenstein, several mountain ranges meet. Here, sedimentary rocks occur that were once formed in widely separated areas of the Tethys Sea and at very different times. The rocks of the Fläscherberg near Balzers and the Eschnerberg in the Unterland originate from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and were deposited 170 to 65 million years ago in the northern coastal area of the Tethys Sea. The rocks of the mountains in southern Liechtenstein, from Falknis to Nafkopf and Rappenstein were also deposited in Jurassic and Cretaceous times, but on a shallow platform in the middle of the Tethys Sea. Along the Rhine valley, there are also rocks that were deposited in the deep ocean just before the Alps began to rise. They are "only" about 40 million years old. The rocks of the eastern mountain ranges from the Dreischwestern chain to Malbun were formed in the Triassic period 240 to 200 million years ago and are among the oldest marine deposits in the Alps.

Ice ages in Liechtenstein

About 20 million years ago, the Alps had risen so far from the sea that the latter had gradually dried up and disappeared. Within the last two million years strong climate fluctuations took place and led to glacier advances and retreats. Each glacier advance lasted several 10'000 to over 100'000 years. Only 15'000 to 20'0000 years ago the Rhine glacier reached beyond the northern shore of Lake Constance. Besides the huge Rhine Glacier, local glaciers filled the valleys of the Liechtenstein mountain area. Only the highest peaks and mountain ranges protruded like islands from the glacial sea.

PDF for browsing about the Malbun Geology Trail — Discoveries on the geology trail in Malbun

Inmany places the traces of the Ice Age lie like a thin carpet over the landscape. The present landscape forms in Liechtenstein are young... What kind of rocks are there in Malbun? How is a cave or a lake formed? What is it about ice-age moraines?

You can find out all this at first hand on the new geology trail in Malbun. Special excursions make the exciting geological history directly experienceable and the best: in your vacation you will be richer by many discoveries.

The geology trail is exclusively available digitally on outdooractive for free and you need the app or website to visit the stations. If you want to print out the information, the PDF above is available for download.

Discover the geology of Liechtenstein around Malbun!

On the tracks of Pangaea

From Alp Sücka over the mountain ridges to the south across the Valünatal to the Pfälzerhütte and back, we experience 400 million years of earth history and encounter the oldest rocks in Liechtenstein.

Come with us on a dive into the past during a guided excursion with geologist Daniel Miescher.

Geological excursion
June to October

Price
CHF 750,- per group
Number of participants: Maximum 6 persons

[Tour details]

Jurassic Volcanoes
From Malbun via Sassförkle through the Valörscher to Steg we hike together with geologist and excursion leader Daniel Miescher through various marine areas and find impressive remains of undersea volcanoes from the time of the dinosaurs.

Geological excursion
June to October

Price
CHF 650,-
Number of participants: Maximum 6 persons

[Tour details]