Alps
This article is about the Alps in Europe. For other use of the word, see Alps (disambiguation). |
Digital relief of the Alps |
The
Alps (
German:
Alpen;
French:
Alpes;
Italian:
Alpi;
Slovenian:
Alpe) is the 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. The word "Alps" was taken via
French from
Latin Alpes (meaning "the Alps"), which may be influenced by the Latin words
albus (white) or
altus (high), or a
Celtic word.
The highest mountain in the Alps is
Mont Blanc at 4,808
m on the French-Italian border. All the main peaks of the Alps can be found in the
list of mountains of the Alps and
list of Alpine peaks by prominence.
Main article: Geography of the Alps
Subdivision
|
The Alps with international borders marked |
The Alps are generally divided into
Western Alps and
Eastern Alps. The division is along the line between
Lake Constance and
Lake Como, following the
Rhine. The Western Alps are higher, but their central chain is shorter and curved; they are located in
Italy,
France and
Switzerland. The Eastern Alps (main
ridge system elongated and broad) belong to
Austria,
Germany,
Italy,
Liechtenstein,
Slovenia and
Switzerland. The highest peak of the Western Alps is
Mont Blanc, 4810 m. The highest peak in the Eastern Alps is
Piz Bernina, 4052 meters.
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 (from the
Wienerwald to
Bregenzerwald).
Geographically, the
Jura mountains do
not belong to the Alps;
geologically, however, they do.
*
Northern Limestone Alps, peaks up to 3000 m
*
Central Eastern Alps (Austria, Switzerland), peaks up to 4050 m
*
Southern Limestone Alps.The border between the Central 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.
|
The Italian Alps as seen from the air |
The
Western Alps are commonly subdivided with respect to
geography:
*
Ligurian Alps*
Maritime Alps*
Cottian Alps*
Dauphiné Alps*
Graian Alps*
Pennine Alps*
Bernese Alps*
Lepontine Alps*
Glarus Alps*
North-Eastern Swiss Alps.Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chains of the Alps, including the
French Prealps. (See
Alpine geography.)
The geologic subdivision is different and makes no difference between the Western and Eastern Alps:
Helveticum in the north,
Penninicum and
Austroalpine system in the centre and south of the Periadriatic seam the
Southern Alpine system and parts of the
Dinarides (see
Alpine Geology).
Main chains
Main article: Main chain of the Alps
|
The European Alps from space in May 2002. |
The "main chain of the Alps" follows the watershed from the
Mediterranean Sea to the
Wienerwald, passing over many of the highest and most famous peaks in the Alps. From the Colle di Cadibona to
Col de Tende it runs westwards, before turning to the north-west and then, near the
Colle della 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.
Principal passes
Main article: Principal passes of the Alps
The Alps do not form an impassable barrier; they have been traversed for
war and
commerce, and later by
pilgrims,
students and
tourists. Crossing places by
road,
train or foot are called passes, these are depressions in the mountains to which a valley leads from the plains and hilly pre-mountainous zones.
Main article: Climate of the Alps
The
climate of the Alps is the
climate, or average
weather conditions over a long time, of the central Alpine region of
Europe. As we rise from
sea level into the upper regions of the
atmosphere, the
temperature decreases. The effect of
mountain chains on prevailing
winds is to carry warm air belonging to the lower region into an upper zone, where it expands in
volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of
heat, often accompanied by the
precipitation of moisture in the form of
snow or
rain.
Main article: Geology of the Alps
The Alps arose as a result of the pressure exerted on
sediments of the
Tethys Ocean basin as its
Mesozoic and early
Cenozoic strata were pushed against the stable
Eurasian landmass by the northward-moving
African landmass. Most of this occurred during the
Oligocene and
Miocene epochs. The pressure formed great recumbent folds, or
nappes, that rose out of what had become the
Tethys Sea and pushed northward, often breaking and sliding one over the other to form gigantic thrust
faults.
crystalline rocks, which are exposed in the higher central regions, are the rocks forming
Mont Blanc, the
Matterhorn, and high peaks in the Pennine Alps and Hohe Tauern.
The
landscape seen today is mostly formed by
glaciation during the past two million years. At least five
ice ages have done much to change the region, scooping out the lakes and rounding off the limestone hills along the northern border.
Glaciers have been retreating during the past 10,000 years, leaving large granite
erratics scattered in the forests in the region. As the last ice age ended, it is believed that the
climate changed so rapidly that the glaciers retreated back into the mountains in a span of about 200 to 300 years.
Main article: History of the Alps
Little is known of the early dwellers in the Alps, save from the scanty accounts preserved by
Roman and
Greek historians and
geographers. A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by
Augustus.
The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by various
Teutonic tribes from the
5th to the
6th centuries are known only in outline, because to them, as to the
Frankish kings and emperors, the Alps offered a route from one place to another rather than a permanent residence.
It is not until the final breakup of the
Carolingian Empire in the
10th and
11th centuries that it becomes possible to trace out the local history of the Alps.
Main article: Exploration of the High Alps
The higher regions of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers (as distinguished from Alpine climbers) began to visit these valleys. The two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were H.B. de Saussure (1740-1799) in the
Pennine Alps, and the Benedictine monk of
Disentis, Placidus a Spescha (1752-1833), most of whose ascents were made before 1806, in the valleys at the sources of the
Rhine.
A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief
deciduous trees —
oak,
beech,
ash and
sycamore maple. These do not reach exactly to the same elevation, nor are they often found growing together; but their upper limit corresponds accurately enough to the change from a temperate to a colder climate that is further proved by a change in the wild
herbaceous vegetation. This limit usually lies about 1200 m above the sea on the north side of the Alps, but on the southern slopes it often rises to 1500 m, sometimes even to 1700 m.
It must not be supposed that this region is always marked by the presence of the characteristic trees. The interference of man has in many districts almost removed them, and, excepting the beech forests of the
Austrian Alps, a considerable wood of deciduous trees is rare. In many districts where such woods once existed, their place has been occupied by the
Scots pine and
Norway spruce, which suffer less from the ravages of goats, the worst enemies of tree vegetation. The mean annual temperature of this region differs little from that of the
British Islands; but the climate conditions are widely different. Here snow usually lies for several months, till it gives place to a spring and summer considerably warmer than the average of British seasons.
Above the forestry, there is often a band of short pine trees (
Pinus mugo), which is in turn superseded by dwarf
shrubs, typically
Rhododendron ferrugineum (on acid soils) or
Rhododendron hirsutum (on basic soils). Above this is the
alpine meadow, and even higher, the vegetation becomes more and more sparse. At these higher altitudes, the plants tend to form isolated cushions. In the Alps, several species of flowering plants have been recorded above 4,000 m, including
Ranunculus glacialis,
Androsace alpina and
Saxifraga biflora.
Image:Kosodrzewina (Sosna górska) Pinus mugo mugo.jpg|mountain pine
(Pinus mugo)Image:Rhododendron ferrugineum.JPG|rusty-leaved Alpenrose
(Rhododendron ferrugineum)Image:Leontopodium alpinum1.jpg|Edelweiss
(Leontopodium alpinum)Image:Gentiana acaulis.jpg|stemless gentian
(Gentiana acaulis)Image:Chamorchis_alpina_230705b.jpg|Alpine dwarf orchid
(Chamorchis alpina)Image:Pulsatilla_alpina_schneebergensis.jpg|Alpine pasque-flower
(Pulsatilla alpina)Image:Androsace alpina02.jpg|Alpine rock-jasmine (Androsace alpina)Image:Ranunculus_glacialis.jpg|glacier buttercup
(Ranunculus glacialis)Species common to the Alps. These are most numerously found in the 15% of the
Alps protected in parks and reserves.
Image:Parnassius pheobus.jpg|Alpine Apollo ButterflyImage:Salamandra atra.jpg|Alpine Salamander
Image:Plochacz 3001xx.jpg|Alpine AccentorImage:Alpenkauw2.jpg|Alpine ChoughImage:Auerhahn mg-k.jpg|CapercaillieImage:Aquila chrysaetos large drawing.jpg|Golden EagleImage:Ptarmigan9.jpg|PtarmiganImage:Aegolius-funereus-001.jpg|Tengmalm's Owl
Image:Alpine ibex.jpg|Alpine IbexImage:Marmota marmota Alpes2.jpg|Alpine MarmotImage:Chamois Kleinwalsertal 1997.jpg|ChamoisImage:Arctic Hare.jpg|Mountain Hare*
Paganism in the Eastern Alps*
Alpinism*
Almabtrieb*
List of natural parks in the Alps*
Satellite photo of the Alps, taken on
August 31,
2005 by
MODIS aboard
Terrazh-yue:阿爾卑斯山
