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Pennine Alps
The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) and Switzerland (Valais). The Pennine Alps are amongst the three highest major subranges of the Alps, together with the Bernese Alps and the Graian Alps that include the Mont Blanc massif. Geography The Italian side is drained by the rivers Dora Baltea, Sesia and Toce, tributaries of the Po. The Swiss side is drained by the Rhône. The Great St Bernard Tunnel, under the Great St Bernard Pass, leads from Martigny, Switzerland to Aosta. Morphology The main chain ( watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea) runs from west to east on the border between Italy (south) and Switzerland (north). From Mont Vélan, the first high summit east of St Bernard Pass, the chain rarely goes below 3000 metres and contains many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpes Poeninae
The Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae (officially Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina), was a small Alpine province of the Roman Empire created after the merging of the ''Alpes Poeninae'' (or ''Vallis Poenina'') and the ''Alpes Graiae'' (or ''Alpes Atrectianae''), during the reign of Septimius Severus (193-196 AD). Comprising the modern Canton of Valais (Switzerland), the Tarantaise Valley, Beaufortain, Haut-Faucigny (France) and the Aosta Valley (Italy), it was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Maritimae and Alpes Cottiae. The Procurator of the province resided in the capital of this province: ''Forum Claudii Ceutronum Axima'' ( Aime-la-Plagne) or ''Darentasia'' (Moûtiers), former capitals of the Alpes Graiae. He was seconded by a ''Praefectus'' in ''Forum Claudii Vallensium'' (Martigny) for the Alpes Poeninae. Name The province was commonly called ''Alpes Graiae'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the northwest and the Po Valley. The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, and Slovenia. The Adriatic contains more than 1,300 islands, mostly located along its eastern coast. It is divided into three basins, the northern being the shallowest and the southern being the deepest, with a maximum depth of . The prevailing currents flow counterclockwise from the Strait of Otranto. Tidal movements in the Adriatic are slight, although acqua alta, larger amplitudes occur occasionally. The Adriatic's salinity is lower than the Mediterranean's because it collects a third of the fresh water flowing into the Mediterranean, acting as a dilution basin. The surface water temperatures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccation, desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The sea was an important ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drainage Divide
A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single range of hills or mountains, known as a dividing range. On flat terrain, especially where the ground is marshy, the divide may be difficult to discern. A triple divide is a point, often a summit, where three drainage basins meet. A ''valley floor divide'' is a low drainage divide that runs across a valley, sometimes created by deposition or stream capture. Major divides separating rivers that drain to different seas or oceans are continental divides. The term ''height of land'' is used in Canada and the United States to refer to a drainage divide. It is frequently used in border descriptions, which are set according to the "doctrine of natural boundaries". In glaciated areas it often refers to a low point on a divide where it is po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aosta
Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the Great St Bernard Tunnel, at the confluence of the Buthier and the Dora Baltea, and at the junction of the Great St Bernard Pass, Great and Little St Bernard Pass routes. History Aosta was settled in proto-historic times and later became a centre of the Salassi, many of whom were killed or sold into slavery by the Ancient Rome, Romans in 25 BC. The campaign was led by Aulus Terentius Varro Murena, Terentius Varro, who then founded the Ancient Rome, Roman colony of ''Augusta Praetoria Salassorum'', housing 3,000 retired veterans. After 11 BC Aosta became the capital of the Alpes Poeninae, Alpes Graies province of the Roman Empire, Empire. Its position at the confluence of two rivers, at the end of the Great St Bernard Pass, Great and the L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martigny, Switzerland
Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octoduriens"). It is a junction of roads joining Italy, France and Switzerland. One road links it over the Great St. Bernard Pass to Aosta (Italy), and the other over the col de la Forclaz to Chamonix (France). In winter, Martigny is known for its numerous nearby Alp ski resorts such as Verbier. Geography Martigny lies at an elevation of , about south-southeast of Montreux. It is on the left foothills of the steep hillsides of the Rhone Valley, at the foot of the Swiss Alps, and is located at the point where the southwestern-flowing Rhone turns ninety degrees northward and heads toward Lake Geneva. The river La Drance flows from the southern Valais Alps (Wallis) through Martigny and joins the Rhone from the left just after Rhone's distinctive, almost rectangular change in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great St Bernard Pass
The Great St Bernard Pass (, , ; ) is the third highest road pass in Switzerland, at an elevation of . It connects Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland with Aosta in the region Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the lowest pass lying on the ridge between the two highest mountains of the Alps, Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa. It is located on the main watershed that separates the basin of the Rhône from that of the Po. Great St Bernard is one of the most ancient passes through the Western Alps, with evidence of use as far back as the Bronze Age and surviving traces of a Roman road. In 1800, Napoleon's army used the pass to enter Italy, an event depicted in Jacques-Louis David's '' Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass'' and Paul Delaroche's '' Bonaparte Crossing the Alps'', both notable oil paintings. Having been bypassed by easier and more practical routes, particularly the Great St Bernard Tunnel, a road tunnel which opened in 1964, its value today is mainly historical and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great St Bernard Tunnel
The Great St Bernard Tunnel (, , ) is a road tunnel complementing the Great St Bernard Pass, linking Martigny (in the Swiss canton of Valais) with Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses (in the Aosta Valley, in north western Italy). Description There is a toll to use the tunnel, payable in full even for drivers who already display on their vehicles a Swiss motorway vignette. The tunnel comprises a section of the E27 route linking Belfort with Aosta. For most of its length the tunnel runs in a straight line, but incorporates a gentle slope. The northern end is above sea level while the southern end is only above sea level. At both ends, the approach road to the tunnel is covered by a gallery/avalanche shelter in order to minimize the risk of access to the tunnel being temporarily blocked during bad weather. Any frontier formalities are handled at the tunnel's north end, although the actual national frontier is around from the Swiss tunnel entrance and from the Italian entrance. Note ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion). At Arles, near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône () and the Little Rhône (). The resulting River delta, delta forms the Camargue region. The river's source is the Rhône Glacier, at the east edge of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Valais. The glacier is part of the Saint-Gotthard Massif, which gives rise to three other major rivers: the Reuss (river), Reuss, Rhine and Ticino (river), Ticino. The Rhône is, with the Po (river), Po and the Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest Discharge (hydrology), water discharge. Etymology The name ''Rhône'' continues the Latin name (Ancient Greek, Greek ) in Greco-Roman geography. The Gaulish name of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Po (river)
The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a Spring (hydrology), spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso. The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice. Draining a basin of , the Po is characterized by its large Discharge (hydrology), discharge (several List of rivers by length, rivers over 1,000 km have a discharge inferior or equal to the Po). It is, with the Rhône and Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge. As a result of its characteristics, the river is subject to heavy flooding. Consequently, over half its length is controlled with Levee, embankments. The river flows throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toce
The Toce (; ; ) is a river in Piedmont, Italy, which stretches the length of the Val d'Ossola from the Swiss border to Lake Maggiore into which it debouches near Fondotoce in the commune of Verbania. The river is long and is formed in the upper Val Formazza by the confluence of a number of torrents in the plain of Riale. Geography The source of one of these, the Gries, is situated on the Italian southern side of the Gries Pass; another forms beneath the Passo di San Giacomo, others flow from little Alpine lakes such as Lago Castel and Lago di Sabbione. South of La Frua the water of the river plummets over the Cascata del Toce into the Formazza Valley, through which it flows before transversing Valle Antigorio after another series of cascades. Near Crevola d'Ossola the river Diveria flows into the Toce. At this point, the valley gets wider and is known as Val d'Ossola. The Toce flows next to the capital of the valley, Domodossola, and then Villadossola and Ornav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
