米苏里纳群峰，多洛米蒂山脉，威尼托大区，意大利 Cadini di Misurina, Dolomites, Veneto, Italy (© Vithun Khamsong/Getty Images)

米苏里纳群峰，多洛米蒂山脉，威尼托大区，意大利 Cadini di Misurina, Dolomites, Veneto, Italy (© Vithun Khamsong/Getty Images)

高处的珊瑚礁 A reef above its station

米苏里纳群峰，多洛米蒂山脉，威尼托大区，意大利

画面捕捉了意大利东北部威尼托大区米苏里纳群峰日出时的锯齿状天际线。前往附近三峰山的游客，往往本为那条著名路线而来，却发现自己的目光被米苏里纳群峰吸引。作为多洛米蒂山脉的一部分，这些针状山峰最高处超过9,300英尺，仿佛专为营造戏剧效果而雕琢。出人意料的是，它们最初是古老的珊瑚礁。

大约2.5亿年前，这一地区位于温暖的热带海洋之下。随着非洲板块与欧亚板块碰撞，海床被抬升到数千英尺高空；昔日由鱼儿游过的悬崖中，至今保存着贝壳及其他海洋化石，如今则由徒步者探索。

日出和日落时分，多洛米蒂山脉在被称为“恩洛萨蒂拉”（enrosadira）的高山奇观中闪烁着粉色与橙色的光芒，让这些古礁石仿佛由内而外被点亮。如今，这处联合国教科文组织世界自然遗产保存着地质学上最不可思议的故事之一。从珊瑚礁到耸立的天际线，鲜少有地方经历过如此漫长而巨大的沧桑巨变。

Cadini di Misurina, Dolomites, Veneto, Italy

The image captures the jagged skyline of Cadini di Misurina at sunrise in Veneto, northeastern Italy. Visitors heading toward nearby Tre Cime di Lavaredo often come for the famous route only to find their attention hijacked by the Cadini. Part of the Dolomites, these needle-like peaks reaching more than 9,300 feet at their highest point seem sculpted for drama. The twist? They started out as ancient coral reefs.

Around 250 million years ago, this region lay beneath a warm tropical sea. As the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, the seabed was thrust thousands of feet into the sky, preserving shells and other marine fossils in cliffs now explored by hikers instead of fish.

At sunrise and sunset, the Dolomites glow pink and orange in the Alpine phenomenon known as 'enrosadira,' making these former reefs appear almost lit from within. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site preserves one of geology's most improbable stories. From coral reef to mountain skyline, few places have traveled farther.