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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.
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.
The Alps form part of a Cenozoic orogenic belt of mountain chains, called the Alpide belt, that stretches through southern Europe and Asia from the Atlantic all the way to the Himalayas. This belt of mountain chains was formed during the Alpine orogeny. A gap in these mountain chains in central Europe separates the Alps from the Carpathians to
The Engadin Airport near St. Moritz at an altitude of 1,704 meters is the highest in Europe. The crossing of the Alps is a key issue at national and international levels, as the European continent is at places divided by the range.
Mount Elbrus, located in Russia, is the highest mountain in Europe. Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are: Alps, in Central Western Europe Western Alps; Eastern Alps; Southern Alps; Northern Alps; Apennines, which run through Italy; Baetic System, Spain, Iberian Peninsula; Musala, highest peak of the Balkans seen from Yastrebets. The ...
[1]: 264 Crowning the massif is Mont Blanc (4,808 metres (15,774 ft)), the highest mountain in the Alps and in western Europe. [1]: 278 [5] From the summit of Mont Blanc to the Arve near Chamonix there is a 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) drop in altitude over a distance of just 8 kilometres (5.0 mi).
The Upper Engadin valley near St Moritz.. The Eastern Alps include the eastern parts of Switzerland (mainly Graubünden), all of Liechtenstein, and most of Austria from Vorarlberg to the east, as well as parts of extreme Southern Germany (Upper Bavaria), northwestern Italy (), northeastern Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia) and a good portion of northern ...
The Alps are home to some worldwide-known mountains like the Matterhorn (Cervino), Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso in the western Alps, and Bernina, Stelvio and Dolomites along the eastern side of the Alps. The highest peak in Europe is Mont Blanc, at 4,810 m (15,780 feet) above sea level, located at the border with France. [30]