Over a period of some two-and-a-half million years, the combined effects of the weather, water and perennial ice have shaped the present day Stelvio National Park. Its characteristic mountains were created during the last Ice Age, resulting in the iconic formations in South Tyrol. The erosion of the ice glaciers is mainly due to the rock debris carried along the bottom of the rivers and valleys, scarring the landscape and altering the chemical composition of the waters flowing beneath the glacier.

As the glaciers started to melt, massive volumes of detritus flowed into the valley, creating the fertile debris cones that are found in the Vinschgau/Val Venosta Valley. However, the mountains in the Stelvio National Park were not only formed by the evolving glaciers. Massive deposits of soil due to landslides, floods and other cataclysmic events have also left their mark on the landscape.