Alps Map: Travel Maps International Adventure Map (National Geographic Adventure Map)

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During the Napoleonic Wars in the late 18th century and early 19th century, Napoleon annexed territory formerly controlled by the House of Habsburg, and the House of Savoy. In 1798, the Helvetic Republic was established, two years later an army across the Great St Bernard Pass. [121] In 1799 the Russian imperial military engaged the revolutionary French army in the Alps, this episode has been recorded as significant achievement in mountain warfare. [122] In October 1799 the troops commanded by Alexander Suvorov were surrounded in the Alps by much larger French troops. The Russian troops broke out, mauled the French troops, and retreated through the Panix Pass. [123] Beattie, Andrew. (2006). The Alps: A Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530955-3 Tourism in the Swiss Alps began with the first ascents of the main peaks of the Alps ( Jungfrau in 1811, Piz Bernina in 1850, Monte Rosa in 1855, Matterhorn in 1856, Dom in 1858, Weisshorn in 1861) mostly by British mountain climbers accompanied by the local guides. The construction of facilities for tourists started in the mid-nineteenth century with the building of hotels and mountain huts (creation of the Swiss Alpine Club in 1863) and the opening of mountain train lines ( Rigi in 1873, Pilatus in 1889, Gornergrat in 1898). The Jungfraubahn opened in 1912; it leads to the highest railway station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch.

There about 200 breeding bird species, as well as an equal number of migratory species, in the Alps. The largest bird species found in the Alps are the golden eagle and the bearded vulture. The alpine chough is the most common bird found in the region. None of the 80 mammal species found in the Alps are “strictly” endemic, meaning they occur in the Alps and nowhere else in the world. Some of the larger carnivore species found in the Alps include the Alpine ibex, the chamois, the Eurasian lynx, the wolf, and the brown bear. These populations have been reduced in size or fragmented into small groups. There are also numerous rodent species found in the Alps, such as voles and marmots. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The severe weather in the Alps has been studied since the 18th century; particularly the weather patterns such as the seasonal foehn wind. Numerous weather stations were placed in the mountains early in the early 20th century, providing continuous data for climatologists. [15] Some of the valleys are quite arid such as the Aosta valley in Italy, the Maurienne in France, the Valais in Switzerland, and northern Tyrol. [15] Allaby, Michael et al. The Encyclopedia of Earth. (2008). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25471-8

Alps

Several glaciers are located in the Alps, the longest of which is the aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps. They may be found in all of the higher groups of mountains from the Dauphiné Alps in France to the Hohe Tauern in central Austria, and the main ascent routes on many of the highest mountains pass over glaciers.

The highest peaks of the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, respectively, are Mont Blanc, at 4,810m (15,780ft), [20] and Piz Bernina, at 4,049m (13,284ft). The second-highest major peaks are Monte Rosa, at 4,634m (15,203ft), and Ortler, [21] at 3,905m (12,810ft), respectively. Geoffrey Hartman, "Gods, Ghosts, and Shelley's 'Atheos'", Literature and Theology, Volume 24, Issue 1, pp. 4–18 During the Pleistocene ice age, commencing around 2 million years ago, when ice caps formed on many high ranges around the world, as well as at the poles, small glaciers were formed on the very highest parts of the Australian Alps, mostly in the vicinity of Mount Kosciuszko. Whilst no glaciers remain today, evidence of their past presence can be found in the numerous tarns and cirques found in that region, such as Club Lake, Blue Lake, and Hedley Tarn. Incidentally, there has also recently been a Bernina Express bus that runs from Lugano to Tirano. Glacier Express Zampieri, Matteo; Scoccimarro, Enrico; Gualdi, Silvio; Navarra, Antonio (January 15, 2015). "Observed shift towards earlier spring discharge in the main Alpine rivers". Science of the Total Environment. Towards a better understanding of the links between stressors, hazard assessment and ecosystem services under water scarcity. 503–504: 222–232. Bibcode: 2015ScTEn.503..222Z. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.036. hdl: 2122/9055. PMID 25005239.There have been several ice ages in the last 2.5 million years, where the Swiss Alps were often completely glaciated except a few very high peaks. Erosion and meltwater flows led to the formation of today’s Swiss mountains. Was die Tunnelbauer im Gotthard antrafen". Tages-Anzeiger (graphical animation) (in German). Zurich. April 1, 2016 . Retrieved May 11, 2016. Smugglers of humans claim that crossing the Alps, is less dangerous or deadly, than traveling 355km on water between Tripoli and Lampedusa with a tramp ship ( carretta del mare) or a dinghy. Undocumented migrants, visa overstayers, false tourists, asylum seekers, and other clandestine humans, lose their lives crossing the Alps. The exact number of smuggled humans who die a brutal death in the Alps, can only be estimated. [151] Largest Alpine cities [ edit ] Much of the Alpine culture is unchanged since the medieval period when skills that guaranteed survival in the mountain valleys and the highest villages became mainstays, leading to strong traditions of carpentry, woodcarving, baking, pastry-making, and cheesemaking. [155]

Anita Ericson, Österreich [Marco Polo travel guide], 13th edition, Marco Polo, Ostfildern (Germany), 2017, Pp. 21f. With some exceptions, the Alps north of Rhône and Rhine are part of the Helvetic Zone and those on the south side are part of the Penninic nappes. The Austroalpine zone concerns almost only the Eastern Alps, with the notable exception of the Matterhorn. Warrant, Eric; Frost, Barrie; Green, Ken; Mouritsen, Henrik; Dreyer, David; Adden, Andrea; Brauburger, Kristina; Heinze, Stanley (2016). "The Australian Bogong Moth Agrotis infusa: A Long-Distance Nocturnal Navigator". Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 10. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00077. ISSN 1662-5153. As the temperature decreases with altitude (0.56°C per 100 meters on yearly average), three different altitudinal zones, each having distinct climate, are found in the Swiss Alps:The south-easternmost extension of the Alps is to be found in Slovenia, including Pohorje, the Kamnik Alps and the Julian Alps (the last being shared with Italy). The town of Idrija may be taken as marking the dividing line between the Alps to the north and the karst plateau to the south, which then leads on to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula. [1] The remainder of the southern edge of the Alps is clearly delimited by the basin of the Po. Sternai, Pietro; Herman, Frédéric; Valla, Pierre G.; Champagnac, Jean-Daniel (April 15, 2013). "Spatial and temporal variations of glacial erosion in the Rhône valley (Swiss Alps): Insights from numerical modeling". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 368: 119–131. Bibcode: 2013E&PSL.368..119S. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2013.02.039. ISSN 0012-821X. S2CID 14687787. The Mont Cenis pass has been a major commercial and military road between Western Europe and Italy. The pass was crossed by many troops on their way to the Italian peninsula. From Constantine I, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne to Henry IV, Napoléon and more recently the German Gebirgsjägers during World War II. [27] Gstaad is also a place for the rich. Insiders say that chalets worth over CHF 40 million have been built here. But the place is much more than that. Besides the great wellness hotels, there is also beautiful and traditional nature, which I really appreciate. Although Gstaad is part of the Swiss Pre-Alps, it is only a 20-minute drive to the valley station of the Glacier 3000. Davos Switzerland In modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks. [11]