In the case of every mountain system, geographers are disposed to regard, as a general rule, the watershed (or boundary dividing the waters flowing towards opposite slopes of the range) as marking the main chain, and this usage is justified in that the highest peaks often rise on or very near the watershed. A geographer is a scientist whose area of study is geography, the study of the physical environment and human habitat. ... A watershed or catchment basin is the region of land whose water drains into a specified body of water, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean. ... Categories: Stub ...

Yet, as a matter of fact, several important mountain groups are situated on one or other side of the watershed of the Alps, and form almost independent ranges, being only connected with the main chain by a kind of peninsula: such are the Dauphine Alps, the Eastern and Western Graians, the entire Bernese Alps, the Tödi, Albula and Silvretta groups, the Ortler and Adamello ranges, and the Dolomites of South Tyrol, not to speak of the lower Alps of Vorarlberg, Bavaria and Salzburg. Of course each of these semi-detached ranges has a watershed of its own, like the lateral ridges that branch off from the main watershed. Thus there are lofty ranges parallel to that which forms the main watershed. The Alps, therefore, are not composed of a single range (as shown on the old maps) but of a great "divide," flanked on either side by other important ranges, which, however, do not comprise such lofty peaks as the main watershed. In the following remarks we propose to follow the main watershed from one end of the Alps to the other. The chief peaks of the Dauphine Alps, from the Col du Galibier, westwards and southwards, are: The chief passes of the Dauphine Alps, from the Col du Galibier, westwards and southwards, are: Categories: Alps ... The Bernese Alps (German: Berner Alpen) is a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. ... Mount Tödi is the highest mountain in the Glarus Alps in the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland. ... The chief peaks of the Albula Range of the Alps, from the Splugen Pass to the Fluela Pass, north and west of the Val Bregaglia and of the Engadine, are: List of passes The chief passes of the Albula Range, from the Splugen Pass to the Fluela Pass, north and... Silvretta - 360° panoramic view (Photo: Mg-k) The Silvretta is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps shared by Tirol, Vorarlberg (both in Austria and Graubünden (Switzerland). ... Ortler (3905m), highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, main peak of the Ortler Group, a mountain range in South Tyrol and Trentino, Italy. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Dolomites are a section of the Alps. ... South Tyrol (German Autonome Provinz Bozen-Südtirol, Italian Provincia autonoma di Bolzano-Alto Adige, Ladin Provinzia autonóma de Bulsan-Südtirol) is an autonomous province of Italy. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ... Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal state of Austria. ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Salzburg (area 7154 sq. ...

Description of main features of alpine chain

Starting from the Col d'Altare or di Cadibona (west of Savona), the main chain extends first south-west, then north-west to the Col de Tenda, though nowhere rising much beyond the zone of coniferous trees. Beyond the Col de Tenda the direction is first roughly west, then north-west to the Rocher des Trois Eveques (2840 m), just south of the Mont Enchastraye (2932 m), several peaks of about 3000 metres rising on the watershed, though the highest of all, the Punta dell' Argentera (3265 m) stands a little way to its north. From the Rocher des Trois Eveques the watershed runs due north for a long distance, though of the two loftiest peaks of this region One, the Aiguille de Chambeyron (3373 m), is just to the west, and the other, the Monte Viso (3813 m), is just to the east of the watershed. From the head of the Val Pelline the main chain runs north-west, and diminishes much in average height until it reaches the Mont Thabor (3157 m), which forms the apex of a salient angle which the main chain here presents towards.the west. Hence the main watershed extends eastwards, culminating in the Aiguille de Scolette (3478 m), but makes a great curve to the north-west and back to the south-east before rising in the Rochemelon (3509 m), which may be considered as a re-entering angle in the great rampart by which Italy is guarded from its neighbours. Thence the direction taken is north as far as the eastern summit (3536 m) of the Levanna, the watershed rising in a series of snowy peaks, though the loftiest point of the region, the Pointe de Charbonel (3730 m), stands a little to the west. Once more the chain bends to the north-west, rising in several lofty peaks (the highest is the Aiguille de la Grande Sassiere, 3726 m), before attaining the considerable depression of the Petit Saint Bernard Pass. Thence for a short way the direction is north to the Col de la Soigne, and then north-east along the crest of the Mont Blanc chain, which culminates in the peak of Mont Blanc (4807 m), the loftiest in the Alps. A number of high peaks crown our watershed before it attains the Mont Dolent (3793 m). Thence after a short dip to the south-east, our chain takes near the Grande Saint Bernard Pass the generally eastern direction that it maintains until it reaches Monte Rosa, whence it bends northwards, making one small dip to the east as far as the Simplon Pass. It is in the portion of the watershed between the Great Saint Bernard Pass and the Simplon that the main chain maintains a greater average height than in any other part. But, though it rises in a number of lofty peaks, such as the Mont Velan (3736 m), the Matterhorn (4470 m), the Lyskamm (4502 m), the Nord End of Monte Rosa (4575 m), and the Weissmies (4000 m), yet many of the highest points of the region, such as the Grand Combin (4283 m), the Dent Blanche (4330 m), the Weisshorn (4477 m), the true summit or Dufourspitze (4602 m) of Monte Rosa itself, and the Dom (4518 m), all rise on its northern slope and not on the main watershed. On the other hand the chain between the Great St Bernard and the Simplon sinks at barely half a dozen points below a level of 3000 metres. The Simplon Pass corresponds to what may be called a dislocation of the main chain. Thence to the St. Gotthard the divide runs north-east, all the higher summits (including the Monte Leone, 3533 metres, and the Pizzo Rotondo, 3172 m) rising on it, a curious contrast to the long stretch just described. From the St Gotthard to the Maloja the watershed between the basins of the Rhine and Po runs in an easterly direction as a whole, though making two great dips towards the south, first to near the Vogelberg (3220 m) and again to near the Pizzo Gailegione (3085 m), so that it presents a broken and irregular appearance. But all the loftiest peaks rise on it: Scopi (3175 m), Piz Medel (3178 m), the Rheinwaldhorn (3371 m), the Tambohorn (3250 m) and Piz Timun (3176 m). Savona is a seaport and comune of the province of Savona in the northern Italian region of Liguria, 44°18′ N 8°29′ E, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea, at sea-level. ... Monte Viso (also called Monviso) is a mountain in the Cottian Alps in Italy close to the French border. ... Rochemelon (or Roche Melon), Rocciamelone in Italian, is a mountain on the France-Italy border, 50 km (30 mi) west of Turin. ... This article is about the Alpine mountain. ... Monte Rosa, seen from the Gornergrat above Zermatt) Monte Rosa is a mountain massif located in the canton Valais (Wallis) of Switzerland on the border with Italy. ... Simplon Pass is a mountain pass at 6,589 ft (2,008 m) in the Lepontine Alps between Switzerland and Italy in Valais and Piedmont. ... There are two passes in the Alps named after Saint Bernard of Menthon, who founded a hospice for travellers in 1049: The Great St. ... The Matterhorn (Fr. ... Monte Rosa, seen from the Gornergrat above Zermatt) Monte Rosa is a mountain massif located in the canton Valais (Wallis) of Switzerland on the border with Italy. ... Grand Combin, Switzerland The Grand Combin is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. ... Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Swiss Alps, west of Zermatt and north of the Matterhorn. ... Weisshorn is a mountain in the Swiss Alps, west of Zermatt and north of the Matterhorn. ... Dufourspitze (De. ... Dom is a 4545 m high mountain in the Mischabel group of the Pennine Alps. ... Simplon Pass is a mountain pass at 6,589 ft (2,008 m) in the Lepontine Alps between Switzerland and Italy in Valais and Piedmont. ... Devils bridge (Teufelsbrücke) across the Schoellen St. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... PO or po may stand for: the Po River in Italy Pô, the town in Burkina Faso Pô (département), part of the Napoleonic Empire Po, one of the Teletubbies. ...

From the Maloja Pass the main watershed dips to the south-east for a short distance, and then runs eastwards and nearly over the highest summit of the Bernina Range, the Piz Bernina (4013 m), to the Bernina Pass. Thence to the Reschen Pass the main chain is ill-defined, though on it rises the Corno di Campo (3305 m), beyond which it runs slightly north-east past the sources of the Adda and the Fraele Pass, sinks to form the depression of the Ofen Pass, soon heads north and rises once more in the Piz Sesvenna (3221 m). The Bernina Range is a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland and northern Italy. ... Piz Bernina is the highest mountain of the eastern Alps with an elevation of 4049 metres. ... The Bernina Pass is a mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in Graubünden, Switzerland. ... The campanile of Curon Venosta The Resia Pass (German: Reschenpaß, German: Passo Resia) is an Alpine pass (1504 m)located at the Italian-Austrian border to the east of Brennero near the border with Switzerland. ... The Fuorn Pass or Ofen Pass (Romansh: Pass dal Fuorn, German: Ofenpass) is a pass (2149 m) in the Grisons, Switzerland. ...

The break in the continuity of the Alpine chain marked by the deep valley, the Vintschgau, of the upper Adige (Etsch) is one of the most remarkable features in the orography of the Alps. The little Reschen Lake which forms the chief source of the Adige is only 4 metres below the Reschen Scheideck Pass (1494 m), and by it is but 5 miles (8 km) from the Inn valley. Eastward of this pass, the main chain runs north-east to the Brenner Pass along the snowy crest of the Ötztal and Stubai Alps, the loftiest point on it being the Weisskugel (3746 m, Ötztal), for the highest summits both of the Ötztal and of the Stubai districts, the Wildspitze (3774 m) and the Zuckerhütl (3511 m) stand a little to the north. Adige (Italian; Etsch in German) is a river with its source in the region of South Tyrol. ... The river Inn, flowing through Innsbruck The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. ... The Brenner Pass (Italian Passo del Brennero) is a mountain pass that creates a link through the Tyrolean Alps along the current border between the nations of Austria and Italy, one of the principal passes of the Alps. ... The Ötztal Alps (Ger. ... Categories: Stub | Alps | Mountain ranges of Austria ... Wildspitze is the tallest mountain in the Ötztal Alps and the second tallest mountain in Austria, measured by relative height (Großglockner is the tallest). ...

The Brenner (1370 m) is almost the lowest of all the great Carriage-road passes across the main chain, and has always been the chief means of communication between Germany and Italy. For some way beyond it the watershed runs eastwards over the highest crest of the Zillertal Alps, which attains 3523 metres in the Hochfeiler. But, a little farther, at the Dreiherrenspitze (3505 m) we have to choose between following the watershed southwards, or keeping due east along the highest crest of the High Tauern Alps. (a) The latter course is adopted by many geographers and has much in its favour. The eastward direction is maintained and the watershed (though not the chief Alpine watershed) continues through the Greater Tauern Alps, culminating in the Großvenediger (3660 m), for the Großglockner (3798 m) rises to the south. Our chain bends north-east near the Radstädter Tauern Pass, and preserves that direction through the Low Tauern Alps to the Semmering Pass. (b) On the other hand, if from the Dreiherrenspitze we cleave to the true main watershed of the Alpine chain, we find that it dips south, passes over the Hochgall (3440 m), the culminating point of the Rieserferner group, and then sinks to the Toblach Pass, but at a point a little east of the great Dolomite peak of the Drei Zinnen it hends east again, and rises in the Monte Coghans (3782 m, the monarch of the Carnic Alps). Soon after our watershed makes a last bend to the south-east and culminates in the Triglav (2865 m), the highest point of the Julian Alps, though the Grintovec (2569 m, the culminating point of the Karavankes) stands more to the east. Finally our watershed turns south and ends near the great limestone plateau of the Birnbaumerwald, between Ljubljana and Gorizia. The Brenner Pass (Italian Passo del Brennero) is a mountain pass that creates a link through the Tyrolean Alps along the current border between the nations of Austria and Italy, one of the principal passes of the Alps. ... The Zillertal Alps (German: Zillertaler Alpen) are a mountain range of the Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. ... The High Tauern (German Hohe Tauern) is the highest range of the Alps in Austria. ... Großglockner with a height of 3798 m above sea level is Austrias highest mountain and the highest mountain east of the Brenner Pass. ... The Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria between which it forms a natural border. ... The Carnic Alps are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps at the borders of East Tyrol, Carinthia and Friuli. ... This article is about mount Triglav in Slovenia. ... Edelweiss, Julian Alps, Slovenia The Julian Alps is part of the Alps that stretch from north-eastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2864 metres at Triglav. ... Grintovec is with 2258 meters the highest mountain of the Kamnik Alps. ... Karavanke (German: Karawanken) is a mountain range on the border between Slovenia and Austria. ... Three Bridges (Tromostovje) and Franciscan church (FrančiÅ¡kanska cerkev) in baroque style in the back Ljubljana (IPA ), German Laibach (), Italian Lubiana () is the capital of Slovenia, situated on the outfall of the river Ljubljanica into the Sava, in central Slovenia, between the Alps and the Mediterranean. ... Gorizia (Slovenian: Gorica, German: Görz, Friulian: Gurize) is a small town (pop. ...

Glaciers

As might be expected, the main chain boasts of more glaciers and eternal snow than the independent or external ranges. Yet it is a curious fact that the three longest glaciers in the Alps (the Great Aletsch, 16½ miles, and the Unteraar and the Fiescher, each 10 miles) are all in the Bernese Alps. In the main chain the two longest are both 9¼ miles, the Mer de Glace at Chamonix and the Gomer at Zermatt. In the Eastern Alps the longest glacier is the Pasterze (rather over 6¼ miles), which is not near the true main watershed, though it clings to the slope of the High Tauern range, east of the Dreiherrenspitze. But the next two longest glaciers in the Eastern Alps (the Hintereis, 6½ miles, and the Gepatsch, 6 miles) are both in the Ötztal Alps, and so close to the true main watershed. The Bernese Alps (German: Berner Alpen) is a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. ... Mer de Glace The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is a glacier on Mont Blanc in the Alps. ... Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, or more commonly, Chamonix is a town and commune in eastern France, in the Haute-Savoie département, at the foot of Mont Blanc. ... Gomer can refer to several things: Gomer, eldest son of Japheth, mentioned in the Old Testament Books of Genesis and Ezekiel; often equated with the Cimmerians [Gimirru], and identified by Flavius Josephus with the Galatians. ... Zermatt is a village located (46°1′ N 7°45′ E) at the northern base of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking and predominately Roman Catholic section of the Valais canton in southern Switzerland. ... The High Tauern (German Hohe Tauern) is the highest range of the Alps in Austria. ...

Lakes

The so-called alpine lakes are the sheets of water found at the foot of the Alps, on either slope, just where the rivers that form them issue into the plains. There are, however, alpine lakes higher up (e.g. the Lake of Thun, and those in the Upper Engadine, in the heart of the mountains, though these are naturally smaller in extent, while the true lakes of the High Alps are represented by the glacier lakes of the Marjelensee (near the Great Aletsch glacier) and those on the northern slope of the Col de Fenetre, between Aosta and the Val de Bagnes. The most singular, and probably the loftiest, lake in the Alps is the ever-frozen tarn that forms the summit of the Roccia Viva (3650 m) in the Eastern Graians. View of Thun and Lake Thun from Niederhorn Lake Thun (German: Thunersee) is a lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. ... Lej da Segl and Lej da Silvaplauna, Upper Engadin Piz Roseg and Vadret da Roseg as seen from Fuorcla Surlej The Engadin is a high-lying east-west valley in the south of the Inn River in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland, famous for its sunny climate and... Aosta Aosta (French: Aoste) is the principal city of the Valle dAosta in the Italian Alps, north of Turin. ...

Rivers

Among the great alpine rivers we may distinguish two classes: those which spring directly from glaciers and those which rise in lakes, these being fed by eternal snows or glaciers. In the former class are the Isere, the Rhone, the Aar, the Ticino, the Tosa, the Hinter (or main) Rhine and the Linth; while in the latter class we have the Durance, the Po, the Reuss, the Vorder and middle branches of the Rhine, the Inn, the Adda, the Oglio and the Adige. The Piave and the Drave seem to be outside either class. Isère is a département in the east of France named after the Isère River. ... Rhône can refer to: Rhône River Rhône (département) in France Rhône (Wine Region) in France This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Aar (disambiguation). ... The Ticino River is a tributary of the Po. ... Tosa is the name of several places in Japan: In Kochi Prefecture Tosa City. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... The Linth (pronounced lint) is a Swiss river starting above Linthal the mountains of Glarus near the Klausen pass and flowing from there north through the Glarus valley passing Schwanden, where it is joined by its main tributary Sernft, Ennenda, the town of Glarus, Netstal, and Näfels, from where... Durance is a 320 km long river in south-eastern France. ... PO or po may stand for: the Po River in Italy Pô, the town in Burkina Faso Pô (département), part of the Napoleonic Empire Po, one of the Teletubbies. ... The River Reuss is one of the larger rivers in Switzerland. ... The river Inn, flowing through Innsbruck The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. ... Adda (anc. ... Adige (Italian; Etsch in German) is a river with its source in the region of South Tyrol. ... Piave (from Latin Plavis ) is a river in north Italy. ... River Drava at Drávaszabolcs, Hungary River Drava at Vízvár, Hungary River Drava at Maribor, Slovenia Drave (German: Drau, Slovenian, Croatian and Italian: Drava, Hungarian: Dráva) is a river in southern Central Europe, flowing East from South Tyrol, Italy through Carinthia, Austria, and Slovenia (145 km) then...

See also

• Alps

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ... Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) represents, in many ways, the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...