Alps

(The,) (alps,) the most remarkable range of mountains in Europe, whether in regard to extent or elevation. They form a crescent-shaped chain, which extends from the Mediterranean between the gulfs of Lyons and Genoa on the W., to the plains of Hungary on the E., a distance of nearly 600 m. They maybe divided into the following groups: - the W. Alps, which have a general direction from S. to N., and extend, under the names of the Maritime Alps, from the sea to Monte Viso, near the sources of the Po; the Cottian Alps, which prolong the chain to Mont Cenis, and include Mt. Genèvre; and the Grecian Alps (Alpes Graise), which include the Little St. Bernard, and terminate at Mont Blanc. The E.Alps, or those chains which extend from W. to E., having much greater breadth, are separated into a N. and S. series; the former comprise the Bernese Alps, on the N. of the valley of the Rhone; the Alps of St. Gall, on N.W. of the Rhone valley; the Noric Alps, which maybe considered as extending from Lake Con stance to the Kahlenberg, near Vienna; and the Styrian Alps, a small chain between the Noric and Carnic Alps. The S. series is composed of the Pennine Alps, between MontBlanc and MonteRos a; the Lep on tine Alps, thence to Mont Bernard in, near the sources of the Upper Rhine the Rhætian Alps, which terminate at Monte Croce, near the head-waters of the Piave; and the Carnic Alps, reaching to the lowest part of the river Mur, which divides them from the Bakony Mountains. Mont Blanc, which attains an altitude of 15,777ft., is the culminating point of the Alps and of all Europe; the other principal summits are Monte Rosa, 15,208ft.; Finsteraarhorn, in the Bernese Oberland, 14,106ft.; the Monte Viso, 12,585ft.; the Oertler Spitz in the Rhætian Alps, 12,852 ft.; the Gro glöckner in the Noric Alps, 13,100 ft.; the Terglon, in the Carnic Alps, 9,380 ft.; and the Eisenhut in the Styrian Alps. The most frequented pa es are the Col de Tende in the Maritime Alps, 589 feet; the pa of Monte Genèvre in the Cottian Alps, 6,560 ft.; that of Mont Cenis, 6,995ft. (see MONT CENIS); of the Great St. Bernard, 8,150 ft., and the Simplon, 6,592 ft., both in the Pennine Alps; the pa of Mont St. Gothard, in the Lepontine Alps, 6,976ft.; the Splügen, 6,939 ft., in the Rhætian Alps; the Loiblberg in the Carnic Alps, and the Semmering in the Noric Alps; the Stelvio, 9,100 ft., is the highest carriage pa in the Alps, and that of St. Gothard is the only one which is carried over the crest of the mountains, the others generally cro ing by the beds of torrents. The higher Alps are covered with perpetual snow, and present in their magnificent glaciers and innumerable cascades which are precipitated from their summits, and in the forests and meadows which cover their flanks, the most imposing and picturesque [s. 23]