Monte Cinto () is the highest mountain on the island of
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
, a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Geography
The elevation of the mountain is and so is its
prominence
In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...
, making it one of the most prominent peaks in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
It is the highest peak of the
Monte Cinto massif, one of the four main massifs in Corsica.
Its location gives it a theoretical panorama of mountains on mainland Europe stretching from near
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. The most distant mountain theoretically visible is
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...
in
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 ...
, just west of north, approximately away.
[http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/EUR/CINTO-N.gif ]
History
The first known ascent of Monte Cinto was on 6 June 1882, by a party led by Édouard Rochat who reached the summit via the mountain's southern slopes. On 26 May 1883 a party led by the English mountaineer
Francis Fox Tuckett
Francis Fox Tuckett FRGS (10 February 1834 – 20 June 1913)D.W.F., 'Obituary: Francis Fox Tuckett' in ''The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 42, No. 2 (August 1913), pp. 206–207 was an English mountaineer. He was vice-president of the Alpine Club ...
, and including the French guide
François Devouassoud
François Devouassoud (September 1831 – 1905) was a French mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, notably as guide to Douglas William Freshfield, who claimed that Devouassoud "was the first Alpine guide to carry his ice-axe to th ...
and the landscape painter
Edward Theodore Compton, also ascended the mountain by the pass that now bears Tuckett's name.
Today, the
GR 20
The GR 20 (or ''fra li monti'') is a GR footpath that crosses the Mediterranean island of Corsica running approximately north–south, described by the outdoor writer Paddy Dillon as "one of the top trails in the world".
The whole trail is ab ...
hiking trail passes close to Monte Cinto, and walkers can make a short detour to the summit.
See also
*
List of European ultra prominent peaks
This is a list of all the mountains in Europe with ultra-prominent peaks with topographic prominence greater than .
European peaks by prominence
The column "Col" in the chart below denotes the highest elevation to which one must descend from a p ...
*
List of islands by highest point
This is a list of islands in the world ordered by their highest point; it lists island, islands with peaks by elevation. At the end of this article continent, continental landmasses are also included for comparison.
Island countries and territor ...
References
External links
* Computer generated digital panoramas from Monte Cinto
NorthSouth
"Monte Cinto, France" on Peakbagger
Mountains of Haute-Corse
Two-thousanders of France
{{HauteCorse-geo-stub