23 Facts About Alps

Therefore, the term "the Alps", as a reference to the mountains, is a misnomer.

Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chain of the Alps, including the French Prealps in France and the Jura Mountains in Switzerland and France.

The secondary chain of the Alps follows the watershed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Wienerwald, passing over many of the highest and most well-known peaks in the Alps.

In contrast, the southeastern part of the Alps ends on the Adriatic Sea in the area around Trieste towards Duino and Barcola.

Alps have been crossed for war and commerce, and by pilgrims, students and tourists.

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Edward Whymper reached the top of the Matterhorn in 1865, and in 1938 the last of the six great north faces of the Alps was climbed with the first ascent of the Eiger Nordwand .

The formation of the Alps was a segment of this orogenic process, caused by the collision between the African and the Eurasian plates that began in the late Cretaceous Period.

The Alps are subdivided by different lithology and nappe structures according to the orogenic events that affected them.

High "massifs" with external sedimentary cover are more common in the Western Alps and were affected by Neogene Period thin-skinned thrusting whereas the Eastern Alps have comparatively few high peaked massifs.

Core regions of the Alpine orogenic belt have been folded and fractured in such a manner that erosion created the characteristic steep vertical peaks of the Swiss Alps that rise seemingly straight out of the foreland areas.

Alps are a source of minerals that have been mined for thousands of years.

Alps's work was continued by other scientists and now a permanent laboratory exists inside a glacier under the Jungfraujoch, devoted exclusively to the study of Alpine glaciers.

Alps provide lowland Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power.

Alps are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher-elevation terrain.

The height of the Alps is sufficient to divide the weather patterns in Europe into a wet north and dry south because moisture is sucked from the air as it flows over the high peaks.

Severe weather in the Alps has been studied since the 18th century; particularly the weather patterns such as the seasonal foehn wind.

Alps are split into five climatic zones, each with different vegetation.

The Frankish expansion of the Carolingian Empire and the Bavarian expansion in the eastern Alps introduced feudalism and the building of castles to support the growing number of dukedoms and kingdoms.

Alps's first visit to the area was in 1923 and he maintained a strong tie there until the end of his life.

Larger cities outside the Alps are Milan, Verona, Turin, Munich, Graz, Vienna, Salzburg, Ljubljana, Maribor, Kranj, Zurich, Geneva, Nice and Lyon .

Alps are one of the more popular tourist destinations in the world with many resorts such as Oberstdorf, in Bavaria, Saalbach in Austria, Davos in Switzerland, Chamonix in France, and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy recording more than a million annual visitors.

Tourism industry began in the early 19th century when foreigners visited the Alps, travelled to the bases of the mountains to enjoy the scenery, and stayed at the spa-resorts.

Lower regions and larger towns of the Alps are well-served by motorways and main roads, but higher mountain passes and byroads, which are amongst the highest in Europe, can be treacherous even in summer due to steep slopes.