Ausserschulischer Lernort Elm

Three times within 150 years, the mountains shaped the fate of Elm: From 1868 onwards, slate mining became an important source of income for many residents. In 1881, a huge landslide destroyed the slate mine and brought great suffering to the village. Today, the Sardona Tectonic Arena, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, attracts mountain lovers and geologists from all over the world to Elm: Here, the "magic line", the Glarus main thrust, impressively runs through the Tschingelhörner.

The students slip into the role of journalists and visit the scene of the event for a report on these three important events.

TOPIC

• Trace the significance of slate mining, landslides and UNESCO World Heritage for Elm. 
• Explore the traces of the landslide.
• Discover the Glarus main thrust and understand its uniqueness.
• Describe shale and verrucano.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY DOCUMENTS
They can be found under "Website".

ACTIVITIES

1. Science journalists on the road
2. Greetings from the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tectonic Arena Sardona

LEVEL
Cycle 2

TIME REQUIRED
Half-day to day trip

VISITING TIME
April/May to October (Activity 1) or all year round (Activity 2)

LOCATION
8767 Elm / Municipality of Glarus South

COORDINATES
732018 / 197878

NATIONAL MAPS
1174 Elm

ARRIVAL
By train to SBB station Schwanden, continue by bus to Elm, station.

ROUTE

• Elm, Station (957 m above sea level) 
• Grayling Stone
• Grayling Lake
• Vreni-Schneider-Weg
• Tschinglenbahn, valley station (1037 m above sea level)
• Threshold Tectonic Arena Sardona
• on the right side of the stream back to the village
• Slate Factory
• Tectonic Arena Sardona Visitor Centre, Elm
• Elm, village (978 m above sea level)

REQUIREMENTS
Walk on roads and marked nature trails.

ROUTE
approx. 4.6 km (1 1/4 h running time, 80 m difference in altitude) 

EQUIPMENT

• Hiking equipment
• For working material, see "Activities"

CATERING
From the backpack.
Fireplace with wood, table and bench in the grove in front of the Tschinglenbahn and fireplace with playground in front of the village.

INFRASTRUCTURE
On the way several information boards on the landslide, the Sardona tectonic arena, geological phenomena and industrial history; at the church: memorial plaque with the names of the landslide victims.

COSTS

• Travel expenses
• Possible costs for guided tours to the landslide and slate factory

NOTES

• Tectonic Arena Visitor Center in Elm. Freely accessible, not supervised. Guided tour on request: unescosardona.ch/standortebesucherzentrum
• Slate factory in Elm. Guided tour on request: plattenberg.ch
• Guided rockslide tour: elm.ch 
• Plate mine in Engi. Viewing on request: landesplattenberg.ch
• Firstboden: beautiful view, view of Martinsloch and Glarus main thrust. Tschinglen Gorge only for experienced mountaineers. tschinglenbahn.ch
• Empächli / Bischofalp area: good view of the Glarus main thrust and the Martinsloch. sportbahnenelm.ch, bischofalp.ch
• Lochsite near Sool. 

INFORMATION 
Glarnerland Nature Centre, station building, Schweizerhofstrasse 2, 8750 Glarus T: 055 622 21 82, info@naturzentrumglarnerland.ch, naturzentrumglarnerland.ch

EXPERIENCE THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE TECTONIC ARENA SARDONA!
Five extracurricular learning locations in the canton of Glarus invite you to experience geological phenomena around the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tectonic Arena Sardona in nature. They are suitable as a supplement to the teaching material "Mountains tell stories" (Ingold Verlag, 2018). Each learning location is dedicated to a topic and area and encourages you to explore and discover for yourself with activities: Talalpsee: A landscape tells / City of Glarus: Mysterious city stones / Lochsite: In the footsteps of mountain explorers / Elm: Fateful mountain world / Mettmen: From stone to life. unesco-sardona.ch

A WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN THE GLARUS REGION
UNESCO designates extraordinary cultural monuments and unique natural phenomena as World Heritage Sites in order to preserve them for future generations. In 2008, the Sardona Tectonic Arena received this prestigious award. Their uniqueness is based, among other things, on the Glarus main thrust: this geological phenomenon is the best way to understand the processes that led to the formation of the mountains worldwide.