Partizione delle Alpi
The Partizione delle Alpi (Italian for "Partition of the Alps", German: Einteilung der Alpen, French: Partition des Alpes) is a classification of the mountain ranges of the Alps, that is primarily used in Italian literature, but also in France and Switzerland. It was devised in 1926.
This classification system entails a division of the main arc of the Alps into the Alpi Occidentali (Western Alps), Alpi Centrali (Central Alps) and Alpi Orientali (Eastern Alps).
Structure
The basic structure is based on the three main divisions (Italian: parti, German: Teile). These were further subdivided into 26 sezioni ("sections") and 112 gruppi ("groups").
- The Alpi Occidentali ("Western Alps", German: Westalpen, French: Alpes Occidentales) in this classification run from the Bocchetta di Altare/Colle di Cadibona, usually accepted as the boundary between the Alps and the Apennines, to the Col Ferret (just west of the Great Saint Bernard) between the Aosta Valley and Valais (upper Rhone valley). Its highest peak is Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) (4,810 m).
- The boundary between the western and central arc of the Alps is the line Ivrea – Aosta Valley – Italian Val Ferret – Col Ferret – Swiss Val Ferret – Martigny-Ville in the knee of Valais – eastern end of Lake Geneva near Montreux/Vevey
- The Alpi Centrali ("Central Alps", German: Zentralalpen, French: Alpes Central) run from the Col Ferret to the Brenner Pass (Passo del Brennero). Their highest summit is Monte Rosa (4,611 m).
- The eastern section is bounded by the line of the Adige valley (near Verona, Vallagarina, Adige valley i.e.S. to Bolzano) – valley of the Eisack (Eisacktal to Franzensfeste, upper Wipptal valley) – Brenner – valley of the Sill (lower Wipptal) – Innsbruck – Lower Inn Valley as far as Rosenheim
- The Alpi Orientali ("Eastern Alps", German: Ostalpen, French: Alpes Orientales) run from the Brenner as far as Rijeka (ital. Fiume), including Istrien and Gorski kotar. The Großglockner (3,798 m) is the highest peak of the Eastern Alps.
The term "Central Alps" should not be confused with the Central Alps within the north-to-south division of the Eastern Alps.
History and reception
This classification of the Alps was compiled in 1926 on the occasion of the IXth Congresso Geografico Italiano and published in the Nomi e limiti delle grandi parti del Sistema Alpino ("Names and Boundaries of the Major Elements of the Alpine System").
The system covered the entirety of the Alps and not just that part of the Alps that lay on Italian soil. In spite of that, the classification is focussed on Italy, because it does not employ the usual bipartite division, and in general the subdivisions usually used in other countries were ignored. It was seen as flawed because it included regions that, according to research, were not part of the Alps.
The following have been cited by Marazzi as basic shortcomings and inconsistencies:[1]
- the inclusion of the Massif des Maures, which does not belong to the Alpine system either tectonically or geologically[2]
- the Monts de Vaucluse, Montagne de Lure and the Luberon Massif were not counted as pre-alps of the Dauphiné in French literature, but as part of Provence, because they lay within that region. Moreover, the Provence Alps also include the "Prealps of Digne" (Préalpes de Digne), that were placed under Prealpi di Provenza (Provence Prealps, French: Préalpes de Provence)
- in the Prealpi svizzere (Swiss Prealps) more northerly regions are included that, according to Swiss geographic literature, do not belong to the Alpine region, but to the Central Plateau, as part of the northern Alpine Foreland
- the Alpi Noriche (Noric Alps) cover far too large an area in comparison with the groups given in Austrian literature (rather excessively the Tux Alps, the whole Tauern, the Alps of Styria and Carinthia are incorporated into the Noric Alps)
- the Alpi bavaresi (Bavarian Alps), the Alpi salisburghesi (Salzburg Alps) and the Alpi austriache (Austrian Alps) are based on archaic concepts, the terms are used entirely differently in the German-speaking region
- the inclusion of the Karst in a broad sense and Istria in the Alpine system, which, today, are considered part of the Dinaric Alps
More up to date versions of this system are found in standard works like the Dictionnaire encyclopédique des Alpes (2006)[3] or Il Grande Dizionario Enciclopedico delle Alpi (2007).[4]
Sections and groups of the three Alpine divisions
| No. | English name | Italian name | French / Slovenian names [note 1] | German name | Groups (i.e. ranges) (English names in brackets) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Alps | Alpi Occidentali | Alpes orientales | Westalpen | From Colle di Cadibona to the Col Ferret | |
| 1 | Maritime Alps | Alpi Marittime (e Prealpi di Nizza) | Alpes maritimes | Meeralpen, Seealpen |
1a Alpi liguri/Alpes ligures (Ligurian Alps) |
| 2 | Cottian Alps | Alpi Cozie | Alpes cottiennes | Cottische Alpen |
2a Alpi Cozie meridionali, Gruppo del Monviso (Southern Cottian Alps) |
| 3 | Graian Alps | Alpi Graie | Alpes grées | Grajische Alpen |
3a Gruppo del Gran Paradiso |
| 4 | Provence Alps | Alpi di Provenza | Alpes de Provence | Provenzalische Alpen | |
| 5 | Dauphiné Alps | Alpi del Delfinato | Alpes du Dauphiné | Dauphiné-Alpen, Dauphinéer Alpen |
5a Gruppo del Champsaur |
| 6 | Provence Prealps | Prealpi di Provenza | Préalpes de Provence | Provenzalische Voralpen |
6a Chaînes des Plans |
| 7 | Dauphiné Prealps | Prealpi del Delfinato | Préalpes du Dauphiné | Dauphiné-Voralpen, Dauphinéer Voralpen |
7a Montagna del Luberon |
| 8 | Savoy Prealps, Savoy Alps | Prealpi di Savoia, Alpi di Savoia | Préalpes de Savoie, Alpes de Savoie | Savoie-Voralpen, Savoie-Alpen, Savoier Alpen |
8a Alpi dello Sciablese (Chablais Alps) |
| Central Alps | Alpi Centrali | Alpes centrals | Zentralalpen | From Col Ferret to the Brenner Pass | |
| 9 | Pennine Alps | Alpi Pennine | Alpes pennines | Penninische Alpen |
9a Alpi del Vallese (Valais Alps) |
| 10 | Lepontine Alps | Alpi Lepontine | Alpes lépontines | Lepontinische Alpen |
10a Gruppo del Monte Leone (Monte Leone Group) |
| 11 | Rhaetian Alps | Alpi Retiche | Alpes rhétiques | Rätische Alpen |
11a Gruppo dell'Albula e Silvretta (Albula Alps and Silvretta) |
| 12 | Bernese Alps | Alpi bernesi | Alpes bernoises | Berner Alpen |
12a Massiccio del Finsteraarhorn (Finsteraarhorn Massif) |
| 13 | Glarus Alps | Alpi Glaronesi | Alpes glaronaises | Glarner Alpen |
13a Gruppo del Tödi (Tödi Group) |
| 14 | Swiss Prealps | Prealpi Svizzere | Préalpes Suisses | Schweizer Voralpen |
14a Prealpi della Simmental (Simmental Alps) |
| 15 | Bavarian Alps | Alpi Bavaresi | – | Bayrische Alpen |
15a Alpi dell'Algovia (Allgäu Alps) |
| 16 | Lombard Prealps | Prealpi Lombarde | – | Lombardische Voralpen, Lombardische Alpen |
16a Prealpi Luganesi (Lugano Prealps) |
| Eastern Alps | Alpi Orientali | Alpes orientales | Ostalpen | From Brenner to Rijeka | |
| 17 | Noric Alps | Alpi Noriche | – | Norische Alpen |
17a Prealpi del Tux (Tux Alps) |
| 18 | Dolomites | Dolomiti | – | Dolomiten |
18a Alpi di Gardena e Fassa |
| 19 | Carnic Alps | Alpi Carniche | Karnijske Alpe | Karnische Alpen |
19a Alpi della Gail (Gailtal Alps) |
| 20 | Julian Alps | Alpi Giulie | Julijske Alpe | Julische Alpen |
20a Alpi Giulie settentrionali (Northern Julian Alps) |
| 21 | Kamnik-Savinja Alps | Alpi di Kamnik e della Savinja | Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe | Steiner Alpen | 21a Kamniške Alpe (Kamnik Alps) 21b Savinjske Alpe (Savinja Alps) |
| 22 | Karavanks | Caravanche | Karavanke | Karawanken |
22a Catena delle Caravanche (Karavanks chain) |
| 23 | Salzburg Alps | Alpi Salisburghesi, Alpi di Salisburgo | – | Salzburger Alpen |
23a Alpi di Kitzbühel (Kitzbühel Alps) |
| 24 | Austrian Alps | Alpi Austriache, Prealpi Austriache | – | Österreichische Alpen |
24a Monti Totes (Totes Gebirge) |
| 25 | Styrian Alps | Prealpi di Stiria | – | Steirische Alpen, Steirische Voralpen |
25a Alpi di Stub (Stubalpe) |
| 26 | Venetian Alps | Prealpi Trivenete | Venetske Alpe | Venetische Alpen, Venetische Voralpen |
26a Monti Lessini (Lessine Alps) |
| 27 | Karst | Carso | Kras | Karst |
27a Piccolo Carso (Little Karst) |
Table notes
- French names are used in the Western Alps and Western Central Alps, Slovenian in the Southern Eastern Alps.
- Monti Steinernes Meer means the entire Berchtesgaden Alps, not just the Steinernes Meer
Footnotes
See also
- Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps, Moriggl, 1924, 1984 revision.
- SOIUSA, an unofficial Italian proposal from 2005
References
- Marazzi, La Suddivisione … (in German), p. 4
- Raoul Blanchard: Les Alpes Occidentales. 7 vols., Arthaud, Paris, 1938–56.
- Sylvain Jouty; Dominique Vulliamy (2006), Pascal Kober (ed.), Dictionnaire encyclopédique des Alpes [Encyclopaedia of the Alps] (in French), Grenoble: Glénat, ISBN 978-2723454605
- Enrico Camanni, ed. (2007), Il Grande Dizionario Enciclopedico delle Alpi [The great encyclopedic dictionary of the Alps] (in Italian), with Federica Beux, Francesca Panero and Pierangela Piazza; translated by Anna Maria Foli, Scarmagno: Priuli & Verlucca, ISBN 978-88-8068-392-6
Literature
- Comitato Geografico Nazionale Italiano (ed.): Nomi e limiti delle grandi parti del Sistema alpino. In L'Universo. Anno Vili, no. 9, Firenze, 1926.
- G. Bertoglio, G. De Simoni: Partizione delle Alpi (in 220 gruppi). Tipografia Alzani, Pinerolo, 1980.
- AA. VV.: Guida dei monti d'Italia. 60 vols., TCI-CAI, Milan, 1936–97.