Difference between revisions of "Alps"

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:''This article is about the Alps in Europe. For other mountain ranges see [[Alps (disambiguation)]].''
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[[Image:Alps in the Chamonix Valley, near the Mer de Glace.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The West face of the Petit Dru above the [[Chamonix]] valley near the [[Mer de Glace]].]]
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[[Image:Alps in the Chamonix Valley, near the Mer de Glace.jpg|thumb|275px|right|The West face of the Petit Dru above the [[Chamonix]] valley near the [[Mer de Glace]].]]
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The '''Alps''' 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 means mountains.
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[[Image:Alpenrelief 01.jpg|thumb|275px|Digital relief of the Alps]]
  
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The highest mountain in the Alps is [[Mont Blanc]] at 4810 [[metre|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]].
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The '''Alps''' 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 language|French]] from [[Latin]] ''Alpes'' (meaning "the Alps"), which may be influenced by the Latin words ''albus'' (white) or ''altus'' (high), or a [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] word.
 +
 
 +
The highest mountain in the Alps is [[Mont Blanc]] at 4,808 [[metre|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]].
  
 
==Geography==
 
==Geography==
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:''Main article: [[Geography of the Alps]]''
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:''Main article [[Geography of the Alps]]''
  
 
===Subdivision===
 
===Subdivision===
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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 located in [[Italy]], [[France]] and [[Switzerland]], the Eastern Alps in [[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 m.
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[[Image:Alpenrelief 02.jpg|thumb|275px|The Alps with international borders marked]]
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[[Image:Grossglockner_from_SW.jpg|thumb|right|275px|[[Großglockner]], south of Salzburg, Austria]]
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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.
  
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The Eastern Alps are commonly subdivided according to the different geological composition of the more central parts of the Alps and the groups at its northern and southern fringes: [[Northern Limestone Alps]], [[Central Eastern Alps]] and [[Southern Limestone Alps]]. 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]].
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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:
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* [[Flysch|Flysch zone]] (from the [[Wienerwald]] to [[Bregenzerwald]]). ''Geographically'', the [[Jura mountains]] do ''not'' belong to the Alps; ''geologically'', however, they do.
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* [[Northern Limestone Alps]], peaks up to 3000 m
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* [[Central Eastern Alps]] (Austria, Switzerland), peaks up to 4050 m
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* [[Southern Limestone Alps]].
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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 [[Graywacke zone|Grauwacken Zone]].
  
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The Western Alps are commonly subdivided into the following:
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[[Image:Italian alps1.jpg|thumb|right|275px|The Italian Alps as seen from the air]]   
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The '''Western Alps''' are commonly subdivided with respect to [[geography]]:
 
*[[Ligurian Alps]]
 
*[[Ligurian Alps]]
 
*[[Maritime Alps]]
 
*[[Maritime Alps]]
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*[[Lepontine Alps]]
 
*[[Lepontine Alps]]
 
*[[Glarus Alps]]
 
*[[Glarus Alps]]
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*[[North-Eastern Swiss Alps]]
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*[[North-Eastern Swiss Alps]].
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Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chains of the Alps, including the [[French Prealps]]. (See [[Geography of the Alps|Alpine geography]].)
  
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Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chains of the Alps, including the [[French Prealps]].
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The geologic subdivision is different and makes no difference between the Western and Eastern Alps: ''[[helvetic nappes|Helveticum]]'' in the north, ''[[Penninic nappes|Penninicum]]'' and ''[[Austroalpine nappes|Austroalpine system]]'' in the centre and south of the Periadriatic seam the [[Southern Alps (geology)|Southern Alpine system]] and parts of the [[Dinarides]] (see [[Geology of the Alps|Alpine Geology]]).
  
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=== Main chains ===
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===Main chains===
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:''Main article: [[Main chain of the Alps]]''
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:''Main article [[Chain of the Alps]]''
  
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[[image:alps.space.300pix.jpg|thumb|right|The European Alps from space in May 2002.]]
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[[Image:alps.space.300pix.jpg|thumb|right|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]].
 
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]].
  
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=== Principal passes ===
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===Principal passes===
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:''Main article: [[Principal passes of the Alps]]''
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:''Main article [[Principal passes of the Alps]]''
  
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The Alps do not form an impassable barrier, they have been traversed for [[war]] and [[commerce]], and later by [[pilgrim]]s, [[student]]s and [[tourist]]s. Crossing places by [[road]], [[train]] or foot are called passes, these are are depressions in the  mountains to which a valley leads from the plains and hilly pre-mountainous zones.
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The Alps do not form an impassable barrier; they have been traversed for [[war]] and [[commerce]], and later by [[pilgrim]]s, [[student]]s and [[tourist]]s. 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.
  
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== Climate ==
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==Climate==
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:''Main article: [[Climate of the Alps]]''
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:''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 [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]], the [[temperature]] [[adiabatic lapse rate|decreases]]. The effect of [[mountain]] chains on prevailing [[wind]]s 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 (meteorology)|precipitation]] of moisture in the form of [[snow]] or [[rain]].
 
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 [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]], the [[temperature]] [[adiabatic lapse rate|decreases]]. The effect of [[mountain]] chains on prevailing [[wind]]s 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 (meteorology)|precipitation]] of moisture in the form of [[snow]] or [[rain]].
  
 
==Geology==
 
==Geology==
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:''Main article: [[Geology of the Alps]]''
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:''Main article [[Geology of the Alps]]''
  
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The Alps arose as a result of the pressure exerted on [[sediment]]s of the [[Tethys Ocean]] basin as its [[Mesozoic]] and early [[Cenozoic]] [[Stratum|strata]] were pushed against the stable [[Eurasia]]n landmass by the northward-moving [[Africa]]n 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 [[Geologic fault|fault]]s. [[Crystal]]line 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.
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The Alps arose as a result of the pressure exerted on [[sediment]]s of the [[Tethys Ocean]] basin as its [[Mesozoic]] and early [[Cenozoic]] [[Stratum|strata]] were pushed against the stable [[Eurasia]]n landmass by the northward-moving [[Africa]]n 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 [[Geologic fault|fault]]s. [[Basement (geology)|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.
  
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The landscape seen today is mostly formed by [[glaciation]] during the past two million years. At least five [[ice age]]s have done much to remodel 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 boulders 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.
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The [[landscape]] seen today is mostly formed by [[glaciation]] during the past two million years. At least five [[ice age]]s 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.
  
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== Political history ==
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==Political history==
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:''Main article: [[Political history and modern state of the inhabitants of the Alps]]''
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:''Main article [[History of the Alps]]''
  
 
Little is known of the early dwellers in the Alps, save from the scanty accounts preserved  by [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[historian]]s and [[geographer]]s.  A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by [[Augustus]].
 
Little is known of the early dwellers in the Alps, save from the scanty accounts preserved  by [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[historian]]s and [[geographer]]s.  A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by [[Augustus]].
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It is not until the final breakup of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in the [[10th century|10th]] and [[11th century|11th centuries]] that it becomes possible to trace out the local history of the Alps.
 
It is not until the final breakup of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in the [[10th century|10th]] and [[11th century|11th centuries]] that it becomes possible to trace out the local history of the Alps.
  
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== Exploration ==
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==Exploration==
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:''Main article: [[Exploration of the High Alps]]''
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:''Main article [[Exploration of the High Alps]]''
  
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The higher regions of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the men 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]].
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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]].
  
 
==Flora==
 
==Flora==
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A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s — [[oak]], [[beech]], [[Ash tree|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 [[herb]]aceous 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.
 
A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s — [[oak]], [[beech]], [[Ash tree|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 [[herb]]aceous 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 [[Austria]]n 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.
 
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 [[Austria]]n 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.
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Above the forestry, there is often a band of short pine trees (''[[Pinus mugo]]''), which is in turn superseded by dwarf [[shrub]]s, 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]]''.
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<gallery>
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Image:Kosodrzewina (Sosna górska) Pinus mugo mugo.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Mountain Pine
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Image:Rhododendron ferrugineum.JPG|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Rusty-Leaved Alpenrose</center>
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Image:Leontopodium alpinum1.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Edelweiss</center>
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Image:Gentiana acaulis.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Stemless Gentian</center>
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Image:Chamorchis_alpina_230705b.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Dwarf Orchid</center>
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Image:Pulsatilla_alpina_schneebergensis.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Pasque-Flower</center>
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Image:Androsace alpina02.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Rock-Jasmine</center>
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Image:Ranunculus_glacialis.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Glacier Buttercup</center>
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</gallery>
  
 
==Fauna==
 
==Fauna==
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[[:Category:Fauna of the Alps|Species common to the Alps]]. These are most numerously found in the 15% of the Alps protected in parks and reserves.
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[[:Category:Fauna of the Alps|Species common to the Alps]]. These are most numerously found in the 15% of the [[List of national parks of the Alps|Alps protected in parks and reserves]].
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<gallery>
 
<gallery>
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Image:Plochacz 3001xx.jpg|<center>[[Alpine Accentor]]</center>
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Image:Parnassius pheobus.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Apollo Butterfly</center>
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Image:Chamois Kleinwalsertal 1997.jpg|<center>[[Chamois]]</center>
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Image:Salamandra atra.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Salamander</center>
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Image:Alpenkauw2.jpg|<center>[[Alpine Chough]]</center>
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Image:Goldie.JPG|<center>[[Golden Eagle]]</center>
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Image:Plochacz 3001xx.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Accentor</center>
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Image:Alpine ibex.jpg|<center>[[Alpine Ibex|Ibex]]</center>
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Image:Alpenkauw2.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Chough</center>
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Image:Corvus monedula2.jpg|<center>[[Jackdaw]]</center>
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Image:Auerhahn mg-k.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Capercaillie</center>
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Image:Marmota marmota Alpes2.jpg|<center>[[Alpine Marmot|Marmot]]</center>
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Image:Aquila chrysaetos large drawing.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Golden Eagle</center>
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Image:Arctic Hare.jpg|<center>[[Mountain Hare]]</center>
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Image:Ptarmigan9.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Ptarmigan</center>
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Image:Ptarmigan9.jpg|<center>[[Ptarmigan]]</center>
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Image:Aegolius-funereus-001.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Tengmalm's Owl</center>
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Image:Elk4.jpg|<center>[[Red Deer]]</center>
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Image:Aegolius-funereus-001.jpg|<center>[[Tengmalm's Owl]]</center>
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Image:Alpine ibex.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Ibex</center>
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Image:Marmota marmota Alpes2.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Alpine Marmot</center>
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Image:Chamois Kleinwalsertal 1997.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Chamois</center>
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Image:Arctic Hare.jpg|<font face="Arial" font color=black><center>Mountain Hare</center>
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
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{{commons|Category:Alps}}
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*[[Paganism in the Eastern Alps]]
 
*[[Paganism in the Eastern Alps]]
 
*[[Alpinism]]
 
*[[Alpinism]]
 +
*[[Almabtrieb]]
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*[[List of natural parks in the Alps]]
  
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== External links ==
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==External links==
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* [http://gridk1ach.grid.unep.ch/preAC/en/soia.htm System for Observation of and Information on the Alps], established in [[1991]] by the [[Alpine Convention]]
 
−
* [http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2005-09-17 Satellite photo of the Alps], taken on [[August 31]], [[2005]] by [[MODIS]] aboard [[Terra (satellite)|Terra]]
 
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* [http://www.eumetsat.int/en/area5/iotm/19930503_convection/19930503_convection.html Convection over the Alps], a satellite photo taken on [[May 3]], [[1993]] by [[Meteosat]]-4, with analysis
 
−
 
 
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[[Category:Alps| ]]
 
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[[Category:Mountains of Europe]]
 
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[[Category:Mountains of Austria]]
 
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[[Category:Mountains of Germany]]
 
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[[Category:Mountains of Switzerland]]
 
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[[Category:Mountains of Slovenia]]
 
  
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==References==
+
* [http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2005-09-17 Satellite photo of the Alps], taken on [[August 31]], [[2005]] by [[MODIS]] aboard [[Terra (satellite)|Terra]]
−
*{{1911}}
 

Latest revision as of 21:54, 23 September 2009

File:Alps in the Chamonix Valley, near the Mer de Glace.jpg
The West face of the Petit Dru above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace.
Digital relief of the Alps


The Alps 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.

Geography

Main article Geography of the Alps

Subdivision

The Alps with international borders marked
Großglockner, south of Salzburg, Austria

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:

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.

File:Italian alps1.jpg
The Italian Alps as seen from the air

The Western Alps are commonly subdivided with respect to geography:

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 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.

Climate

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.

Geology

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.

Political history

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.

Exploration

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.

Flora

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.

  • Mountain Pine
  • Rusty-Leaved Alpenrose
  • Edelweiss
  • Stemless Gentian
  • Alpine Dwarf Orchid
  • Alpine Pasque-Flower
  • Alpine Rock-Jasmine
  • Glacier Buttercup

Fauna

Species common to the Alps. These are most numerously found in the 15% of the Alps protected in parks and reserves.


  • Alpine Apollo Butterfly
  • Alpine Salamander
  • Alpine Accentor
  • Alpine Chough
  • Capercaillie
  • Golden Eagle
  • Ptarmigan
  • Tengmalm's Owl
  • Alpine Ibex
  • Alpine Marmot
  • Chamois Kleinwalsertal 1997.jpg
    Chamois
  • Mountain Hare

See also

External links
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