The Gole del Salinello Regional Nature Reserve was founded on the 13th November 1990. The Salinello gorges are an enormous canyon created by the waters of the river Salinello between the Gemelli, the Foltrone (1720 m) and the Girella (1814 m) Mountains, in Abruzzo within the confines of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park. Caves of carsic origin are also present in this area. The course of the Salinello is flanked by deposits consisting of micritic marly limestone. In the narrowest part the rock faces, up to 200 metres high, drop vertically down into the river. During the summer many tourists take the opportunity to swim in the cool river waters that in summer are never more than 16°C. On the rock faces there are rock hermitages, namely caves where hermits once lived.