Alps
From Encyclopediak
Alps, a mountain system of southern Europe. It covers an area of from 80,000 to 90,000 sq. m. and extends into France, Germany, Italy and Austria, in eluding also the greater part of Switzerland. The total length of the range is 600 m. and its width varies from 75 to 150 m. The Jura Mountains join it on the west and the Apennines on the south. The Dinaric Alps, bordering Bosnia and Dalmatia, form a connecting link with the Balkan Mountains. The Alps proper are divided into the western, central and eastern groups. Among minor divisions are the Maritime, Cottian, Graian, Bernese, Pennine, Lepontine, Rhsetian and Tyrolese Alps. The highest summit is Mont Blanc, 15,781 ft. Other peaks towering in the rugged and snowy grandeur thousands of feet above snow level are Mont Pelvoux, Les Erins, the Jung-frau, Finsteraarhorn, Schreckorn, Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. The highest part of the system is the west-central Alps and the region around Mont Blanc.
The mountain range is not continuous, and there are a great number of passes, of which several have been used since the dawn of civilization. The conquering Romans, bent on subduing the world beyond the Alps, eagerly seized upon those in use by the native inhabitants, in order that their progress might be easier. The principal ones are the Brenner, Simplon, St. Gotthard, La Corniche, Col-di-Tenda, San Bernardina and Stelvio passes. Among the important railways crossing the range are the Brenner, from Munich and Innsbruck to Verona and Venice, the Mont Cenis, between France and Italy, the Simplon, from the upper Rhone Valley to Lago Maggiore, and the St. Gotthard, between Lake Lucerne and Lago Maggiore. There are several tunnels, principally the Mont Cenis and the St. Gotthard. The rainfall is ample and this gives rise to glaciers on the mountain heights covering an area of 1600 sq. m. The largest Swiss glacier is the Aletsch, in the Bernese Alps. Others are the Unteraar, the Mer de Glace and the Rhone Glacier. The heavy snowfall causes many destructive avalanches.
Geologically, there are two divisions of the Alps. The central section is composed of crystalline rocks and the outer of sedimentary rocks. The surface reveals the effect of intense erosion; the folding and faulting of the strata are generally northeast and southwest. The climate of the Alpine winter is steadily severe; the summers are uniformly temperate and travelers find the atmosphere invigorating and bracing. The Alps lie within the influence of the cyclonic disturbances of northern Europe. One of the most characteristic winds is the hot, dry wind known as the fohn, whose chief useful function is to clear the ground of snow in the springtime, sometimes at the rate of two feet per day.
Indefatigable tourists and hunters have routed the wild animals from ever their most secluded lairs, and the native fauna has become scarce within recent years. The principal animals are the chamois, ibex, brown bear, wolf, wild cat, fox, weasel, badger, ermine and otter. Butterflies are common, though on the heights their color pales and their wing power weakens. There are a great number of game and other birds, insects and beetles, but few reptiles. The plant life is unique in that it extends in part up to the line of eternal snow. The trees of lower altitudes are sycamore, beech, ash, oak, chestnut, walnut and maple. The olive, lemon and vine abound on the lower southern slopes. On the high elevations are the flr, the creeping pine and the larch. The Alpine flowers are famous for their beauty, the edelweiss being celebrated the world over. Others are the violets, roses, gentians, edelrue and Alpine bells. Mosses and lichens crown summits where no other vegetable life is found.
