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Geography of the Alps

March 27, 2023

The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and possibly Hungary (if one includes the Kőszeg Mountains).

The Alps seen from space
DEM-based shaded relief/hypsometric image of the Alps with the borders of the countries.

This article describes the delimitation of the Alps as a whole and of subdivisions of the range, follows the course of the main chain of the Alps and discusses the lakes and glaciers found in the region.

Boundaries

In some areas, such as the edge of the Po Basin, the edge of the Alps is unambiguous, but where the Alps border on other mountainous or hilly regions, the border may be harder to place. These neighbouring ranges include the Apennines, the Massif Central, the Jura, the Black Forest, the Bohemian Forest, the Carpathians, and the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula.

The boundary between the Apennines and the Alps is usually taken to be the Colle di Cadibona, at 435 m above sea level, above Savona on the Italian coast.

The Rhône forms a clear boundary between the tectonically-formed Alps and the largely volcanically-formed Massif Central. Moving upstream, the Rhône turns to the east near Lyon, and passes to the south of the Jura range before reaching Lake Geneva. An area of flat ground reaches from there to Lake Neuchâtel, continuing the border, with the Jura to the north-west and the Alps to the south east. From Lake Neuchâtel to its confluence with the Rhine, the Aare forms the border.

The Black Forest is separated from the Alps by the Rhine and Lake Constance, but exact delimitation is difficult in southern Germany, where the land gently slopes up to meet the mountains (known in German as the Schwäbisch-Bayerisches Alpenvorland, the "Swabian-Bavarian pre-Alps").

In Austria, the Danube runs to the north of the Alps, separating it from the majority of the Bohemian Forest, although some small areas, such as the Dunkelsteiner Wald south of the Wachau, belong geologically to the Bohemian Forest despite being south of the Danube. The Vienna Woods near Vienna forms the north-eastern corner of the Alps, and here the Danube passes at its closest to the Alps (see Viennese Basin). [1] East of Vienna, only the Marchfeld, a 30-km wide flood plain separates the easternmost Alps from the Lesser Carpathians. After Vienna, the Pannonian Basin, a large area of steppe, meets the edge of the Alps, clearly delimiting the eastern limit of the Alps.

The south-easternmost extension of the Alps is to be found in Slovenia, including Pohorje, the Kamnik Alps and the Julian Alps (the last being shared with Italy). The town of Idrija may be taken as marking the dividing line between the Alps to the north and the karst plateau to the south, which then leads on to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula.[1] The remainder of the southern edge of the Alps is clearly delimited by the basin of the Po.

This delimitation of the Alps is, however, largely subjective and open to argument. In particular, some people restrict the use of the term "Alps" to the higher mountains in the centre of the range, relegating the surrounding hills and mountains to the status of "pre-Alps" or foothills. This can sometimes lead to conflicting definitions, such as Mont Ventoux being considered to lie outside the Alps (there are no comparably sized mountains around it, and it is at a considerable distance from the main chain of the Alps).

It is not possible to define the Alps geologically, since the same orogenous events that created the Alps also created neighbouring ranges such as the Carpathians (see also geology of the Alps). The Alps are a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System physiographic division, but the Alps are composed of three distinct physiographic sections, the Eastern, Western and Southern Alps.

Subdivisions

While smaller groups within the Alps may be easily defined by the passes on either side, defining larger units can be problematic. A traditional divide exists between the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, which uses the Splügen Pass (Italian: Passo dello Spluga) on the Swiss-Italian border, together with the Rhine to the north and Lake Como in the south as the defining features. While the Splügen Pass is neither the lowest nor the most important pass in the Alps, it is approximately halfway along the main chain, and makes a convenient boundary.

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps are commonly subdivided according to the different lithology (rock composition) of the more central parts of the Alps and the groups at its northern and southern fringes:

The border between the Central Eastern Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps is the Periadriatic Seam. The Northern Limestone Alps are separated from the Central Eastern Alps by the Grauwacken Zone.

However, the geologic subdivision, based on tectonics, suggests a different system:

Western Alps

The Western Alps are commonly subdivided into the following:

Within the Eastern Alps, the most widely used subdivision is the Alpine Club's 1984 classification, which divides the region into about seventy small areas.

Main chain

Further information: Main chain of the Alps

The "main chain of the Alps" follows the watershed from the Mediterranean to the Wienerwald, passing over many of the highest and most famous peaks in the Alps. The most important passes and peaks which it crosses are given below (mountains are indented, passes unindented). From the Colle di Cadibona to Col de Tende it runs westwards, before turning to the north-west and then, near the Colle de la Maddalena, to the north. Upon reaching the Swiss border, the line of the main chain heads approximately east-north-east, a heading it follows until its end near Vienna.

Some of the highest peaks in the Alps, however, fall to one side or other of the main chain. These include:

For more detailed lists of passes, please see the articles about individual areas of the Alps.

Glaciers

Several glaciers are located in the Alps, the longest of which is the aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps. They may be found in all of the higher groups of mountains from the Dauphiné Alps in France to the Hohe Tauern in central Austria, and the main ascent routes on many of the highest mountains pass over glaciers.

Lakes

Very few large lakes are found within the body of the Alps, but a number are situated around the edge, particularly in areas formerly covered by glacier tongues. These include Lake Geneva on the northern side of the alps, on the French/Swiss border, Lago Maggiore, Lake Como and Lake Garda on the southern side of the Alps in Italy/Switzerland, and the lakes of Switzerland, southern Germany and the Austrian Salzkammergut in the north.

Rivers

Main article: Valleys of the Alps


The main drainage basins of the Alps are those of the Rhine, the Rhone, the Danube and the Po. These have as main tributaries:

Other important rivers draining the Alps include the Var, Adige and Piave.

The triple watershed Rhine-Rhone-Po is south of Furka Pass near the summit of the Witenwasserenstock, at 46°31′N 8°27′E / 46.517°N 8.450°E / 46.517; 8.450; the triple watershed Rhine-Po-Danube is at Lunghin Pass, Grisons (46°25′N 9°39′E / 46.417°N 9.650°E / 46.417; 9.650, 2645 m); the triple watershed Po-Danube-Adige is at the Swiss-Italian border, near the summit of Monte Forcola south of Val Müstair, at 46°34′N 10°22′E / 46.567°N 10.367°E / 46.567; 10.367.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Travel map of the Alps". GeoCenter. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
  2. ^ Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years

March 27, 2023
geography, alps, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2010. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Geography of the Alps news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe including parts of Italy France Switzerland Liechtenstein Austria Slovenia Germany and possibly Hungary if one includes the Koszeg Mountains The Alps seen from space DEM based shaded relief hypsometric image of the Alps with the borders of the countries This article describes the delimitation of the Alps as a whole and of subdivisions of the range follows the course of the main chain of the Alps and discusses the lakes and glaciers found in the region Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Subdivisions 2 1 Eastern Alps 2 2 Western Alps 3 Main chain 4 Glaciers 5 Lakes 6 Rivers 7 See also 8 ReferencesBoundaries EditIn some areas such as the edge of the Po Basin the edge of the Alps is unambiguous but where the Alps border on other mountainous or hilly regions the border may be harder to place These neighbouring ranges include the Apennines the Massif Central the Jura the Black Forest the Bohemian Forest the Carpathians and the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula The boundary between the Apennines and the Alps is usually taken to be the Colle di Cadibona at 435 m above sea level above Savona on the Italian coast The Rhone forms a clear boundary between the tectonically formed Alps and the largely volcanically formed Massif Central Moving upstream the Rhone turns to the east near Lyon and passes to the south of the Jura range before reaching Lake Geneva An area of flat ground reaches from there to Lake Neuchatel continuing the border with the Jura to the north west and the Alps to the south east From Lake Neuchatel to its confluence with the Rhine the Aare forms the border The Black Forest is separated from the Alps by the Rhine and Lake Constance but exact delimitation is difficult in southern Germany where the land gently slopes up to meet the mountains known in German as the Schwabisch Bayerisches Alpenvorland the Swabian Bavarian pre Alps In Austria the Danube runs to the north of the Alps separating it from the majority of the Bohemian Forest although some small areas such as the Dunkelsteiner Wald south of the Wachau belong geologically to the Bohemian Forest despite being south of the Danube The Vienna Woods near Vienna forms the north eastern corner of the Alps and here the Danube passes at its closest to the Alps see Viennese Basin 1 East of Vienna only the Marchfeld a 30 km wide flood plain separates the easternmost Alps from the Lesser Carpathians After Vienna the Pannonian Basin a large area of steppe meets the edge of the Alps clearly delimiting the eastern limit of the Alps The south easternmost extension of the Alps is to be found in Slovenia including Pohorje the Kamnik Alps and the Julian Alps the last being shared with Italy The town of Idrija may be taken as marking the dividing line between the Alps to the north and the karst plateau to the south which then leads on to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula 1 The remainder of the southern edge of the Alps is clearly delimited by the basin of the Po This delimitation of the Alps is however largely subjective and open to argument In particular some people restrict the use of the term Alps to the higher mountains in the centre of the range relegating the surrounding hills and mountains to the status of pre Alps or foothills This can sometimes lead to conflicting definitions such as Mont Ventoux being considered to lie outside the Alps there are no comparably sized mountains around it and it is at a considerable distance from the main chain of the Alps It is not possible to define the Alps geologically since the same orogenous events that created the Alps also created neighbouring ranges such as the Carpathians see also geology of the Alps The Alps are a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System physiographic division but the Alps are composed of three distinct physiographic sections the Eastern Western and Southern Alps Subdivisions EditWhile smaller groups within the Alps may be easily defined by the passes on either side defining larger units can be problematic A traditional divide exists between the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps which uses the Splugen Pass Italian Passo dello Spluga on the Swiss Italian border together with the Rhine to the north and Lake Como in the south as the defining features While the Splugen Pass is neither the lowest nor the most important pass in the Alps it is approximately halfway along the main chain and makes a convenient boundary Eastern Alps Edit The Eastern Alps are commonly subdivided according to the different lithology rock composition of the more central parts of the Alps and the groups at its northern and southern fringes Flysch zone up from the Vienna Woods to the Bregenz Forest Northern Limestone Alps peaks up to 3000 m Central Eastern Alps Austria Swiss peaks up to 4050 m Southern Limestone Alps peaks up to 3500 m The border between the Central Eastern Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps is the Periadriatic Seam The Northern Limestone Alps are separated from the Central Eastern Alps by the Grauwacken Zone However the geologic subdivision based on tectonics suggests a different system The Helvetic system in the north including the Jura mountains which do not geographically belong to the Alps the Penninic system mainly Central Alps Engadine and Tauern window and Flysch Alps the Austroalpine system Northern Limestone Alps Graywacke Schist zone Central Crystalline the Southern Alps Southern Limestone Alps and other chains south of the Periadriatic Seam south of a huge geologic fault alpine dinaric seam parts of the Dinarides Western Alps Edit The Western Alps are commonly subdivided into the following Ligurian Alps from Savona to Colle di Tenda Maritime Alps from Colle di Tenda to Colle della Maddalena Cottian Alps from Colle de la Maddalena to Montgenevre Pass Dauphine Alps from Col du Mont Genevre to Col du Mont Cenis Graian Alps from Col du Mont Cenis to the Col Ferret Chablais Alps from Lake Geneva to the Col des Montets Pennine Alps from Col Ferret to the Simplon Pass Lepontine Alps from Simplon Pass to Splugen Pass Bernese Alps north of the Rhone to the Grimsel Pass Urner Alps from Grimsel Pass to the Reuss Glarus Alps north east of Oberalp Pass Appenzell Alps north of Sargans Within the Eastern Alps the most widely used subdivision is the Alpine Club s 1984 classification which divides the region into about seventy small areas Main chain EditFurther information Main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps follows the watershed from the Mediterranean to the Wienerwald passing over many of the highest and most famous peaks in the Alps The most important passes and peaks which it crosses are given below mountains are indented passes unindented From the Colle di Cadibona to Col de Tende it runs westwards before turning to the north west and then near the Colle de la Maddalena to the north Upon reaching the Swiss border the line of the main chain heads approximately east north east a heading it follows until its end near Vienna Colle di Cadibona Italy 435 m Colle di Tenda Col de Tende France Italy 1908 m Colle della Maddalena Col du Larche France Italy 1994 m Monte Viso France Italy 3841 m Col de Montgenevre France Italy 1854 m Col de Frejus France Italy 2537 m Col du Mont Cenis France 2084 m Aiguille de la Grande Sassiere France Italy 3751 m Little St Bernard Pass France Italy 2188 m Mont Blanc Monte Bianco France Italy 4810 45 m 2 highest point in the Alps Great St Bernard Pass Switzerland Italy 2469 m Matterhorn Monte Cervino Switzerland Italy 4478 m Monte Rosa Switzerland Italy 4634 m Simplon Pass Switzerland 2005 m Blinnenhorn Switzerland Italy 3374 m Saint Gotthard Pass Switzerland 2044 m Rheinwaldhorn Switzerland 3402 m Splugen Pass Passo dello Spluga Switzerland Italy 2113 m Maloja Pass Switzerland 1809 m Piz Bernina Switzerland Italy 4049 m Fuorn Pass Switzerland 2419 m Piz Sesvenna Switzerland Italy 3205 m Reschen Pass Austria Italy 1504 m Weisskugel Austria Italy 3738 m Timmelsjoch Passo del Rombo Austria Italy 2491 m Zuckerhutl Austria 3507 m highest point in the Stubaier Alpen Brenner Pass Austria Italy 1371 m Hochfeiler Austria Italy 3509 m Grossvenediger Austria 3666 m Grossglockner Austria 3798 m highest mountain in Austria Hochtor Austria 2575 m Ankogel Austria 3246 m Radstadter Tauern Austria 1739 m Hochgolling Austria 2863 m Schober Pass Austria 849 m Hochschwab Austria 2277 m Gerichtsberg Austria 581 m Schopfl Austria 893 m highest point in the Wienerwald Danube 160 mSome of the highest peaks in the Alps however fall to one side or other of the main chain These include Barre des Ecrins France 4102 m highest point in the Dauphine Alps Gran Paradiso Italy 4061 m highest point in the Graian Alps Finsteraarhorn Switzerland 4274 m highest point of the Berner Oberland Jungfrau Switzerland 4158 m Berner Oberland Ortler Cima Ortles Italy 3905 m Marmolada Italy 3343 m highest point in the Dolomites Todi Switzerland 3614 m highest point of the Glarus Alps Triglav Slovenia 2864 m highest point in the Julian Alps For more detailed lists of passes please see the articles about individual areas of the Alps Glaciers EditSeveral glaciers are located in the Alps the longest of which is the aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps They may be found in all of the higher groups of mountains from the Dauphine Alps in France to the Hohe Tauern in central Austria and the main ascent routes on many of the highest mountains pass over glaciers Lakes EditVery few large lakes are found within the body of the Alps but a number are situated around the edge particularly in areas formerly covered by glacier tongues These include Lake Geneva on the northern side of the alps on the French Swiss border Lago Maggiore Lake Como and Lake Garda on the southern side of the Alps in Italy Switzerland and the lakes of Switzerland southern Germany and the Austrian Salzkammergut in the north Rivers EditMain article Valleys of the Alps Valais Ticino Adda Isere Durance Var Adige Piave Dora Baltea Reuss Aare Inn Inn Enns Mura Drava Sava Rhine Rhine Danube Rhone Po Po Northern Limestone Alps Central Eastern Alps Southern Limestone Alps Appenzell Alps Glarus Alps Lepontine Alps Bernese Alps Pennine Alps Graian Alps Dauphine Alps Cottian Alps Maritime Alps Ligurian Alps Orographical map of the Alps Rhone basin Rhine basin Po basin Danube basinThe main drainage basins of the Alps are those of the Rhine the Rhone the Danube and the Po These have as main tributaries Rhine Aare Reuss posterior Rhine Rhone Durance Drome Isere Danube Sava Drava Mur Enns Inn Po Oglio Adda Ticino Dora Baltea Other important rivers draining the Alps include the Var Adige and Piave The triple watershed Rhine Rhone Po is south of Furka Pass near the summit of the Witenwasserenstock at 46 31 N 8 27 E 46 517 N 8 450 E 46 517 8 450 the triple watershed Rhine Po Danube is at Lunghin Pass Grisons 46 25 N 9 39 E 46 417 N 9 650 E 46 417 9 650 2645 m the triple watershed Po Danube Adige is at the Swiss Italian border near the summit of Monte Forcola south of Val Mustair at 46 34 N 10 22 E 46 567 N 10 367 E 46 567 10 367 See also EditList of national parks in the Alps High AlpsReferences Edit a b Travel map of the Alps GeoCenter Retrieved 2010 12 09 Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Geography of the Alps amp oldid 1122807205, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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