The Ötztal Alps ( it, Alpi Venoste, german: Ötztaler Alpen) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

in the Central Eastern Alps, in the State of Tyrol in western

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the Province of South Tyrol in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Geography

The Ötztal Alps are arrayed at the head of the Ötztal valley, a side valley of the Inn river southwest of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

, Austria. One line of summits forms part of the border between Austria and Italy. The Ötztal Alps are bordered by the Reschen Pass (1504 m) in the west and the Inn river in the northwest and north. In the east the range is separated from the Stubai Alps by the Ötztaler Ache in the Ötztal, the Timmelsjoch (2474 m) and the Passer river in the Passeier Valley. On the south and southwest, the range is limited by the deep valley of the Etsch river, here known as the Vinschgau. The Ötztal Alps are surrounded by the following ranges: *

Lechtal Alps The Lechtal Alps (german: Lechtaler Alpen) are a mountain-range in western Austria, and part of the greater Northern Limestone Alps range. Named for the river Lech which drains them north-ward into Germany, the Lechtal Alps occupy the Austrian st ...

* Mieming Range * Stubai Alps * Sarntal Alps *

Ortler Alps The Ortler Alps ( it, Ortles-Cevedale ; german: Ortler-Alpen; rm, Alps da l'Ortler) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group in the Central Eastern Alps, in Italy and Switzerland. Geography The Ortler Alps are separate ...

* Sesvenna Alps * Samnaun Alps On September 1991, Ötzi the so-called "Iceman" was found on the Hauslabjoch between the peaks Fineilspitze and Similaun.

Peaks

The highest point of the Ötztal Alps is

Wildspitze Wildspitze () is the highest mountain in the Ötztal Alps and in North Tyrol, as well as the second highest mountain in Austria after the Großglockner and in terms of prominence (2261 m) is the fourth summit of the Alps and the fifteenth of Eur ...

, which is also the second highest mountain in Austria (after Großglockner). Wildspitze is on one of several arms that extend north and northeast from the main ridge. Some of the main peaks of the Ötztal Alps are:

Passes

The main

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

es of the Ötztal Alps are:

Geography

Peaks

Passes

See also