The Ligurian Alps 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 northwestern

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 ...

. A small part is located in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. They form the south-western extremity of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, separated from the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

by the

Colle di Cadibona Colle di Cadibona - - is a mountain pass between Savona and Altare in the Ligurian Alps, delineating the boundary with the Apennine Mountains. It is also known as ''Bocchetta di Altare''. On the south-eastern side of the Alps Godovič Pass (Slo ...

. The Col de Tende and the

Vermenagna The Vermenagna is a long river in northwestern Italy (Piedmont). Geography The Vermenagna is a tributary to the river Gesso, in the river Po basin. Its source is a small lake higher than 2000 m close to the Rocca dell'Abisso, not faraway ...

valley separate them from the

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Italian regions of Piedmont and Li ...

. They form the border between

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in the north and

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

in the south.

Geography

Administratively the range is divided between the Italian provinces of

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and '' comune'' in the region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini created the ...

and

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

and the French department of

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, ...

(south-western slopes). The Ligurian Alps are drained by the Tanaro River, along with other tributaries of the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. T ...

, on the Piedmontese side, and by several smaller rivers that flow directly to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

on the Ligurian and French side.

Chief peaks and passes

Monte antoroto e colla bassa da monte grosso

Monte_Galero_da_ovest_a_sin_colle_san_bernardo

The chief peak of the Western Ligurian Alps is Punta Marguareis (2,651 m), and there are several other summits over 2000 m, while in Eastern Ligurian Alps (also called ''

Ligurian Prealps The Ligurian Prealps (in Italian ''Prealpi Liguri'' or ''Alpi Liguri Orientali'', in French ''Préalpes liguriennes'') are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. They belong to the Ligurian Alps and are located between the regions of Piemonte ...

'') the maximum elevation is 1739 m ( Monte Armetta). Some important passes in the Ligurian Alps are listed below. Colle Scravaion e Rocca Barbena

Conservation

Around of the Ligurian side of the range since 2007 are part of the

Parco naturale regionale delle Alpi Liguri The Regional Natural Park of the Ligurian Alps (in Italian ''Parco Naturale Regionale delle Alpi Liguri'') is a natural park in Province of Imperia (Liguria, Italy). It was established in 2007 by the '' legge regionale'' nr.34 of 15/11/2007. Ge ...

.''Storia del Parco''
parconaturalealpiliguri.it
/ref> On the northern side of the range stands the ''

Natural Park of Marguareis The Natural Park of Marguareis(in Italian ''Parco Naturale del Marguareis'') is a regional natural park of the Ligurian Alps located in the Province of Cuneo (Piedmont, Italy). History The protected area was established by the regional govern ...

'', another

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

natural park established by the

regional government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

Piemonte it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in 1978.

Maps

* Italian official cartography (''

Istituto Geografico Militare The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy. Over ...

'' - IGM); on-line version
www.pcn.minambiente.it
* French official cartography (''

Institut Géographique National An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

'' - IGN); on-line version
www.geoportail.fr

References

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Liguria Mountain ranges of Piedmont

Geography

Chief peaks and passes

Conservation

See also

Maps

References