The nappe is named after the mountain Dent Blanche, which is formed by rocks of the nappe. The most famous outcrop of the nappe is the Matterhorn, which is made of an erosional remnant (klippe) of Dent Blanche material lying on top of Penninic ophiolites (Zermatt-Saas zone). Because of this the Matterhorn came from Africa, as the Austroalpine nappes are fragments of the African plate.