The Bernina Range is 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 aris ...
in the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
of eastern
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is considered to be part of the
Rhaetian Alps
The Rhaetian Alps (; ) are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps. The SOIUSA classification system divides them into the Western Rhaetian Alps, Western, Southern Rhaetian Alps and Eastern Rhaetian Alps, while the Alpine Club classification of the ...
within the
Central Eastern Alps. It is one of the highest ranges of the Alps, covered with many glaciers.
Piz Bernina
Piz Bernina (Romansh language, Romansh, , ) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises and is located south of Pontresina in the Bernina Region and ne ...
(), its highest peak, is the most easterly
four-thousand-metre peak in the Alps. The peak in the range which sees the most ascents is
Piz Palü
Piz Palü is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, located between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large glaciated massif composed of three main summits, on a ridge running from west to east. The main (and central) summit is 3,899 metres ...
.
The Bernina Range is separated from the
Albula Range in the north-west by the
Maloja Pass
Maloja Pass ( Italian: ''Passo del Maloja'', German: ''Malojapass'') (1815m a.s.l.) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden, linking the Engadine with the Val Bregaglia, still in Switzerland and Chiavenna in ...
and the Upper
Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...
valley; from the
Livigno Range in the east by the
Bernina Pass
The Bernina Pass (el. .) () is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley with the Italian-spea ...
; from the
Bergamo Alps
The Bergamasque Alps or Bergamo Alps (; sometimes translated into English as Orobic Alps) are a mountain range in the Italian Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Bergamo, south of the mountains. Within the Easter ...
in the south by the
Adda valley (
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...
); and from the
Bregaglia Range
The Bregaglia Range (commonly the Bregaglia) is a small group of mostly granite mountains in Graubünden, Switzerland and the Province of Sondrio, northern Italy. It derives its name from the partly Swiss, partly Italian valley, the ''Val Brega ...
in the south-west by the
Muretto Pass. The Bernina Range is drained by the rivers
Adda,
Inn and
Maira (Mera in Italy).
The term Bernina Alps can also be used in an extended sense to include both the Bernina and Bregaglia ranges; this is the area coloured red on the map (right) and labelled 'Bernina Alpen'.
Peaks

The main peaks of the Bernina Range are:
Glaciers

Main
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s :
*
Morteratsch Glacier
*
Roseg Glacier
*
Pers Glacier
*
Tschierva Glacier
*
Palü Glacier
*
Scerscen Superiore Glacier
*
Scerscen Inferiore Glacier
*
Fellaria Glacier
Passes
The main
passes of the Bernina Range are:
Mountain huts
There are several manned and unmanned mountain huts in the Bernina Range.
See also
*
Swiss Alps
The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...
References
*
Swisstopo
Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland's national mapping agency.
The current name was made official in 2002. It had been used as the domain name for the homepage of the instituteswisstopo.admi ...
External links
Visual day-by-day narrative & photoblog of the Tour of the Bernina hiking trail around the Bernina range
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Rhaetian Alps
Mountain ranges of Italy
Mountain ranges of Graubünden
Engadin
Limestone Alps