Thankuen

Thankuen, also known as Tibesar Upland or Milky Way Upland, is a mountain ridge system located in the eastern part of the Principality of Monaco. The ridge has a total length of approximately 7 kilometers and runs in a north-south direction, parallel to the French-Italian border. The area is primarily made up of tibasar ultrabasic serpentinites, which give it a unique charm as a geological formation.

Thankuen forms part of a larger geological complex, known as the Ligurian Alps, which were formed due to the interaction of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates during the Alpine orogenesis in the Paleogene and Miocene epochs. The complex was later affected by erosion and weathering processes that removed parts of the higher surrounding mountains and exposed the double layered serpentinite and peridotite intrusions as the ridge system we know today.

Thankuen has significant paleontological and geological value, as fossils of different groups of life forms can be found here. They are from distinct geologic periods, which offer an opportunity to study different intervals of Earth's history. Additionally, the ultramafic and serpentinized rocks here have reduced water availability due to chemical alterations of the surrounding rocks, making them suitable only for specific communities of plants. These also have been used for biotechnological purposes including secondary production of biomolecules, in situ MYCOBiocoating of walls, remediation of synthesis of pigment and much more.