Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Image of the Swiss Alps, covered in snow during the daytime. The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, [1] represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions.
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.
On the other hand, in the 1930s, when the current Italian 1:25.000 topographic map of the region was created, the Passo del Vannino, northwest of the Ofenhorn, was covered by the Lebendun glacier and was measured to be 2,754 m, while the much more recent Swisstopo map shows it to be bare and 2,717 m high.
The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (German: Voralpen; French: Préalpes; Italian: Prealpi; Slovene: Predalpe), may refer generally to any foothills at the base of the Alps in Europe. [1] They are the transition zone between the High Alps and the Swiss Plateau and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland in the north, as well as to the Pannonian Basin ...
The Swiss Alps occupy the southern part of Switzerland. They were formed by the thrust of the African plate, which also caused the formation of the Jura in the north-east and the plateau between the two massifs. In terms of area the Alps constitute about 60% of the country, the plateau 30% and the Jura 10%.
This is a list of the highest mountains of Switzerland.This list only includes summits above 3,600 metres (11,811 ft) with a topographic prominence of at least 30 metres. . Note that this list includes many secondary summits that are typically not considered mountains (in the strict sense of the term) but that are mainly of climbing intere
The Alps provide lowland Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. [64] Although the area is only about 11% of the surface area of Europe, the Alps provide up to 90% of water to lowland Europe, particularly to arid areas and during the summer months. Cities such as Milan depend on 80% of water from Alpine runoff.
The six great north faces of the Alps are a group of vertical faces in the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps known in mountaineering for their difficulty, danger, and great height. The "Trilogy" is the three hardest of these north faces, being the Eiger , the Grandes Jorasses , and the Matterhorn .