The ancient history of the valley

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The origin of lake Ampola is bound to the complex river-glacial vicissitudes that thousands years ago determined the form of the valley. During the big Wurm ice age (ended about 15000 years ago), the eastern end of the valley was blocked by a big sediment left by the glaciers (sand, gravel, stones, rocks). This moraine is still visible in the east of the Ledro Lake. This barring, at the end of the ice age, determined the formation of a big lake, from Molina until Ampola Lake. Later on the big basin progressively retired because the effluent (Ponale torrent) eroded the moraine and it has been divided in two. So the Ampola Lake has been divided from Ledro Lake and now they are about 10 km far away.