The Lugano Prealps (''Prealpi Luganesi'' or ''Prealpi Lombarde Occidentali'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

) are a mountain range in the western part of 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. ...

. They are located in

Canton Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzona ...

(southern

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

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

(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 ...

Geography

Administratively the Italian part of the range belongs to the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s of

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

and

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

, while the Swiss one is divided between the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , ; ; is a municipality, a List of towns in Switzerland, historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its Three Castles of Bellinzona, three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sa ...

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

and

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura di Mendris ...

The_Lombard_Pre-Alps_of_Lake_Como_portrayed_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci

The western slopes of the mountains are drained by the

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, the eastern ones by Adda and the southern-central part of them by

Lambro The Lambro ( or ''Lambar'' ) is a river of Lombardy, northern Italy, a left tributary of the Po. The Lambro rises from the Monte San Primo, elevation , near the Ghisallo, in the province of Como, not far from Lake Como. After Magreglio it fl ...

Olona The Olona (''Olona'' in Italian; ''Ulona'', ''Urona'' or ''Uòna'' in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed entire ...

and other minor rivers and streams, all of them directly or indirectly

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the Po.

SOIUSA classification

According to

SOIUSA Alps by SOIUSA. SOIUSA (an acronym for - English: ''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA'') is a classification system of the Alps from the geographic and toponomastic point of view. It was designed by Sergio Maraz ...

(''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') the mountain range is an Alpine section, classified in the following way: * main part =

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alps, Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzer ...

* major sector = North Western Alps * section = Lugano Prealps *

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

= I/B-11

Borders

Lugano Prealps' borders are (clockwise): *

Lago Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'greater lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the List of lakes of Italy, second largest lake in Italy and the List of lakes of Switzerland, largest in southern Sw ...

(west), *

from

, San Jorio Pass (2.010 m, which connects them with the

Lepontine Alps The Lepontine Alps (, , ) are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Canton of Uri, Uri and Graubünden) and Italy (Piedmont and Lombardy). The Simplon Tunnel, Simplon rail tunnel ...

) and San Jorio valley till to

Gravedona Gravedona ed Uniti is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Como in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. The municipality of Gravedona ed Uniti contains the ''frazione, fr ...

(north); *

Como lake Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

(east); *

Po Plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic extension not actually related t ...

(south).

Subdivision

The Lugano Prealps are divided into two subsections: * Como Prealps -

SOIUSA code image:SOIUSA-sezioni.png, Alps by SOIUSA. SOIUSA (an acronym for - English language, English: ''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA'') is a classification system of the Alps from the geography, geographic and toponoma ...

:I/B-11.I *

Varese Prealps The Varese Prealps () are a subsection of the Lugano Prealps, located between the Italian Province of Varese and Canton Ticino in Switzerland, between Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, the Val d' Agno and the Po Plain. They include two main ranges, se ...

:I/B-11.II, which are separated by the

Monte Ceneri Pass Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It connects the Magadino Plain and the Vedeggio Valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of above sea level. It provides the most direct route between the cities ...

. These subsections are further divided in supergroups: * Como Prealps: ** supergroup catena Gino-Camoghè-Fiorina -

:I/B-11.I-A ** supergroup catena Tremezzo-Generoso-Gordona -

:I/B-11.I-B ** supergroup catena del Triangolo Lariano -

:I/B-11.I-B * Varese Prealps: ** supergroup catena Tamaro-Gambarogno-Lema -

:I/B-11.II-A, ** supergroup catena Piambello-Campo dei Fiori-Nudo -

:I/B-11.II-B.

Summits

The chief summits of the range are:

References

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.

'' - IGM); on-line version
www.pcn.minambiente.it
* Swiss official cartography ('' Swiss Federal Office of Topography'' - Swisstopo); on-line version
map.geo.admin.ch
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Lombardy Mountain ranges of Switzerland Province of Varese Province of Como Landforms of Ticino Italy–Switzerland border Western Addition, San Francisco Swiss Alps Western Alps