Main chain of the Alps

Alpine ridge called an imaginary line along a summit ridge of the Alps, which runs from west to east and connects the central peaks of the Alps. From the Ligurian Sea to the Vienna basin it has a length of about 1600 km, making it one of the most important geomorphological large structures in Central Europe.

Basics

Despite the generally geographically formative importance for Europe of the Alps as a weather divide and limit the Mediterranean and Central European cultural areas of the main Alpine ridge does not form a basic central European watershed. The Eastern Alps drain on the North as southern slopes largely to the Danube and the Black Sea, only the southern slopes of the Southern Limestone Alps to the Adriatic Sea. The Western Alps drain entirely to the Mediterranean, where the main Alpine ridge forms the watershed between the western Mediterranean ( Rhône to the Gulf of Lions and the Ligurian Sea ) and the eastern (Po to the Adriatic). Only in the Central Alps, the central portion, it represents the main European watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic represents (except Val Cadlimo south, the Rhine ).

With the Engadine ( over the Inn to the Danube ) divides the main Alpine ridge characteristic mean Südverwerfung with the whole of the Alps, in the western Alps it changes by engaging large valleys several times by the French western slope into the flank of the Italian Piedmont ( Wallis / Rhône, Valle d'Aosta / Po, the Isere Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys of the Rhone, the Po and Dora valleys to the Durance to the Rhône), and then runs eastward into the central watershed of the Apennines. In the Eastern Alps, he strictly follows the prevailing west-east grazing direction of pull, but runs over nearly 200 km only in the mountains of central mountain character.

Course

Particularly in the Swiss and Austrian west central portion of the main Alpine ridge includes some of the most prominent mountains and passes of the Alps, in particular, the highest mountain in Europe, France, Italy and Switzerland, the Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner.

Coming on Ligurian Alps and the Maritime Alps From Colle di Cadibona - the French- Italian border following on Cottian Alps and Grajische Alps to Mont Blanc - Great Saint Bernard - Matterhorn - from Monte Rosa to the Simplon Pass - continue on Nufenenpass to Gotthard - Rheinwaldhorn - Splügenpass - Maloja Pass - Piz Bernina - Ofen Pass - Reschenpass - the Tyrol and South Tyrolean border following the Ötztal Alps (white ball ) and the Timmelsjoch in the Stubai Alps - Brenner Pass - Zillertal Alps to the Dreiherrenspitze - in the Hohe Tauern ( the Salzburg - osttirolerischer boundary) - Low Tauern - Schoberpass - Eisenerzer main ridge - Praebichl - High Schwab - Seeberg - High Veitsch - Niederalpl - Lahnsattel - Goeller - Cold Kuchl - Unterberg - Gerichtsberg - Schöpfl - Hermannskogel.

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