{{Infobox mountain | name = Paglia Orba | other_name = | image = File:Paglia Orba.jpg | image_size = | image_upright = | image_alt = | image_caption = Summit, with [[Capu Tafunatu]] on its right (aerial photo) | map = France Corsica | map_relief = 1 | map_size = | map_caption = | label_position = right <!----------------------- HIGHEST POINT --> | highest = | highest_location = | elevation_m = 2525 | elevation_system = | prominence = | prominence_m = | prominence_ft = | prominence_ref = | parent_peak = | isolation = | isolation_km = | isolation_mi = | isolation_parent = | isolation_ref = | listing = | coordinates = {{coord|42|20|33|N|8|52|43|E|display=it}} | coordinates_ref = <!----------------------- DIMENSIONS --> | length = | length_km = | length_mi = | length_orientation = | length_ref = | width = | width_km = | width_mi = | width_orientation = | width_ref = | area = | area_km2 = | area_mi2 = | area_ref = | volume = | volume_km3 = | volume_mi3 = | volume_ref = <!----------------------- NAMING --> | etymology = | nickname = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | translation = | pronunciation = | authority = <!----------------------- GEOGRAPHY --> | location = | country = France | country_type = | state = [[Haute-Corse]] | state_type = Department | region = | region_type = | district = | district_type = | part = | part_type = | settlement = | settlement_type = | range_coordinates = | range_coordinates_ref = | range = [[Monte Cinto Massif]] | borders_on = | topo_maker = | topo_map = | biome = <!----------------------- GEOLOGY --> | formed_by = | orogeny = | age = [[Permian]] | type = | geology = | volcanic_zone = | last_eruption = <!----------------------- CLIMBING --> | first_ascent = | easiest_route = | normal_route = | access = }} The{{efn|French-language books often treat the name as feminine, but in Corsican it is masculine.}}{{sfn|Chiorboli|2020}} '''Paglia Orba''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˌpa.ʎa ˈɔːr.ba/}}) is a mountain peak in the [[Monte Cinto Massif]] in Corsica. It rises to an altitude of {{convert|2,525|m}}, between the valleys of the [[Golo (river)|Golo]] (in the Niolo) and the Cavicchia (in the Filosorma). Relatively isolated, this peak, notable for its characteristic tooth-shaped silhouette, dominates the [[Fango (river)|Fango]] Valley and the west coast of the island.
Straddling the municipalities of [[Albertacce]] and [[Manso, Haute-Corse|Manso]], Paglia Orba is the second highest peak of the central chain and the Filosorma, behind [[Punta Minuta]] at {{convert|2,556|m}}.
== Geography == [[File:Paglia Orba et Calasima.jpg|thumb|left|Calasima, at {{convert|1095|m}} the highest village in Corsica]]
With an altitude of {{convert | 2525 | m}}, the Paglia Orba is located in the municipalities of [[Albertacce]] and [[Manso, Haute-Corse|Manso]]. It is nearly {{convert|200|m}} lower than [[Monte Cinto]]. The Golo, the longest river in Corsica, rises at its feet.
On its slopes at an altitude of {{convert|1384|m}} the Ruisseau Orba rises in the communal forest of Albertacce, which is a monoculture of [[laricio pine]]s.
== Geology ==
[[File:Permian conglomerates and arkosic sandstones of the Paglia Orba, Corsica.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|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{{sfn|BRGM|1996}} (puddingstone) with some boulders exceeding {{convert|1|m3}} 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.{{sfn|Gauthier|2015|p=62}}{{sfn|Bouchra Zarki‐Jakni|Peter van der Beek |Gérard Poupeau |Marc Sosson|2004}} Only a few rare vestiges of this sedimentary filling remain today, including the Paglia Orba preserved on the southwestern edge of this caldera.
== Access==
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.{{sfn|Fabrikant|1982|p=196-198}}
Experienced hikers and mountaineers can also complete the tour of the Paglia Orba{{sfn|Fabrikant|1982|p=208}} by crossing the "Geologists' Breach", named in memory of a geologist who died there,{{sfn|Fabrikant|1982|p=190}}{{sfn|Climber killed}}) and the "Sphinx Breach", near a characteristic looking rock block.
=== Climbing ===
The dizzying faces and ridges of this "queen of the Corsican mountains" offer climbers a multitude of routes rated “AD” to “ED”.{{sfn|Fabrikant|1982|p=194-195}} <gallery mode=packed> File:Paglia-Orba.jpg|The Paglia Orba seen from the Pont des 5 Arcades (D81) in Galéria, above the Fango valley. File:Niolu.jpg|La Paglia Orba (left) seen from the [[Lac de Calacuccia]]. In the middle, Monte Cintu. </gallery>
==Notes== {{notes}}
{{reflist|25em}}
==Sources== {{refbegin}} *{{citation |author1=Bouchra Zarki‐Jakni |author2=Peter van der Beek |author3=Gérard Poupeau |author4=Marc Sosson |author5=Erika Labrin |author6=Philippe Rossi |author7=Jean Ferrandini |title=Cenozoic denudation of Corsica in response to Ligurian and Tyrrhenian extension: Results from apatite fission track thermochronology |journal=Tectonics |volume=23 |issue=1 |date=February 2004 |issn=0278-7407 |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2003TC001535 |doi=10.1029/2003TC001535 |s2cid=129821727 |accessdate=3 March 2021|doi-access=free }} *{{citation|url=http://ficheinfoterre.brgm.fr/Notices/1109N.pdf|title=Notice de la carte géologique de la France à 1/50000 feuille Galeria-Osani |author=BRGM |year=1996|work=Infoterre|accessdate=2 March 2021}}*{{citation |language=fr |last=Chiorboli |first=Jean |journal=Corse-Matin « Settimana |date=27 March 2020 |title=Paglia Orba : sommets corses emblématiques |issn=2429-4764}} *{{citation |journal=Belfast Telegraph |date=25 July 1961 |page=7 |ref={{harvid|Climber killed}} |title=Climber killed |issn=0307-5664 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002318/19610725/108/0007}} *{{citation |language=fr |year=1982 |pages=408 |isbn=978-2-7038-0018-7 |last=Fabrikant |first=Michel |title=Guide des montagnes corses : Randonnées pédestres et escalades |location=Grenoble |publisher=Didier Richard |series=Cartes et guides de Corse}} *{{citation|first1=Alain |last1=Gauthier|date=2015|pages=232|publisher=Albiana|title=Corse, l'Élysée du Géologue|isbn=978-2-8241-0632-8}} {{refend}} {{Landforms of Haute-Corse}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paglia Orba}} [[Category:Mountains of Haute-Corse]]