3D Geological visualizations of geoheritage information in the Monviso Massif (Western Alps)

Geoheritage information comes from areas that are of geological interest (i.e. geosites). An important activity for geosites management consists of developing and applying useful digital tools for sharing information. The PROGEO-Piemonte (PROactive management of GEOlogical heritage in the PIEMONTE region) is an example of a project wherein different IT applications have been implemented for collecting, storing and spreading geoheritage information. The most important of these applications consists of building 3D visualizations of geological features through the Arpa Piemonte Geoportal, which hosts a GIS-based 3D viewer loading high resolution DTM and aerial images. Lithostratigraphic, structural and geomorphological features occurring in the Monviso Massif in the Western Alps are selected from geological map databases, processed by GIS tools and draped over the terrain model. 3D visualizations give realistic and easy-to-read representations of geology around geosites or along geological trails, and contribute to overcome problems that commonly occur in transferring contents of geological maps to non-expert users.