French Alps Explained
The French Alps (French: Alpes françaises) are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as the Mont Blanc massif, are shared with Switzerland and Italy.
At 4808m (15,774feet), Mont Blanc, on the France–Italy border, is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the highest Western European mountain.[1]
Notable towns in the French Alps include Grenoble, Chamonix, Annecy, Chambéry, Évian-les-Bains and Albertville.
Ranges and summits
| Chain | Range | Highest summit | Elevation (m/ft) |
|---|
| | | |
| | | 2995m (9,826feet) |
| | | 2829m (9,281feet) |
| | | 3855m (12,648feet) |
| Graian Alps central group | | 3752m (12,310feet) |
| | | 2977m (9,767feet) |
| | | 3465m (11,368feet) |
| | | 3514m (11,529feet) |
| | | 2857m (9,373feet) |
| | | 4102m (13,458feet) |
| | | 3612m (11,850feet) |
| | | 3229m (10,594feet) |
| | | 3320m (10,890feet) |
| Ubaye Massif (Orrenaye) | | 3411m (11,191feet) |
| Mercantour-Argentera Massif | | 3143m (10,312feet) |
| | | 3050m (10,010feet) |
| | | 2961m (9,715feet) |
| | | 2651m (8,698feet) |
| | | 2464m (8,084feet) |
| | | 3257m (10,686feet) |
| | | 2965m (9,728feet) |
| | | 2438m (7,999feet) |
| | | 2750m (9,020feet) |
| | | 2217m (7,274feet) |
| | | 2082m (6,831feet) |
| | | 2341m (7,680feet) |
| | | 2051m (6,729feet) |
| Dauphiné Prealps | | | 2789m (9,150feet) |
| | | 2016m (6,614feet) |
| Provence Prealps | | | 2115m (6,939feet) |
| | Mont Mare | 1603m (5,259feet) |
| | Signal de Saint-Pierre | 1256m (4,121feet) |
| | Mourre Nègre | 1125m (3,691feet) |
| Maritime Prealps | | Puy de Rent | 1996m (6,549feet) |
| | Pointe des Trois Communes | 2080m (6,820feet) |
|
Ski areas
The largest connected ski areas are:
- Les Trois Vallées (Courchevel, Méribel, La Tania, Brides-les-Bains, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Les Menuires, Val Thorens and Orelle): 338 slopes, 600 km of pistes.
- Portes du Soleil (Avoriaz, Châtel, Morzine, Les Gets, Saint-Jean d'Aulps, La Chapelle d'Abondance, Abondance, Montriond, Swiss resorts): 288 slopes, 650 km of slopes not entirely connected.
- Paradiski (La Plagne, Peisey-Vallandry, Les Arcs), Champagny-en-Vanoise: 239 slopes, 420 km of slopes.
- Via Lattea (Montgenèvre, Italian resorts): 214 slopes, 400 km of slopes.
- Évasion Mont-Blanc (Combloux, Megève, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, Les Contamines Monjoie): 183 slopes, 420 km of slopes not entirely connected.
- Espace Killy (Tignes, Val-d'Isère): 137 slopes, 300 km of slopes.
- Grand Massif (Flaine, Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns, Sixt): 134 slopes, 265 km of slopes.
- Les Aravis (La Clusaz, Manigod, La Croix Fry, Merdassier, Le Grand-Bornand): 133 slopes, 220 km of slopes not entirely connected.
- Les Grandes Rousses (L'Alpe d'Huez, Vaujany, Auris-en-Oisans, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard-Reculas): 117 slopes, 236 km of slopes.
- Serre Chevalier: 111 slopes, 250 km of slopes.
- La Forêt Blanche (Risoul, Vars): 104 slopes, 180 km of slopes.
- Les Sybelles (Le Corbier, La Toussuire, Les Bottières, Saint-Jean-d'Arves, Saint-Sorlin-d'Arves, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards): 96 slopes, 310 km of slopes.
- Valloire and Valmeinier: 83 slopes, 150 km of slopes.
- Grand Domaine (Valmorel, Saint-François-Longchamp): 82 slopes, 150 km of slopes
- Espace San Bernardo (La Rosière, La Thuile - Italy): 73 slopes, 150 km of slopes.
- Les Deux Alpes and La Grave: 69 slopes, 220 km of slopes. (+ Freeride Zone)
The other large ski areas are:
Activities
A range of winter and summer activities are available in the French Alps. In the winter, these include skiing and snowboarding as well as alternatives such as snowshoeing, sledging. There is a range of other activities that happen such as gliding which most happens during the summer months.[2] Summer activities include hiking, mountaineering, biking and rock climbing.[3]
Gallery
Image:Mont Blanc oct 2004.JPG|Mont Blanc (4,810 m)Image:Aiguille du Dru 3.jpg|Aiguille du Dru (3,754 m)Image:Aiguille Verte ateabutnoe2.jpg|Aiguille Verte (4,122 m)Image:Mer de Glace, Aiguille du Géant et Grandes Jorasses.jpg|Mer de Glace, Dent du Géant (4,013 m) and Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) in Chamonix (c. 1890)Image:00 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains - TMB - JPG2.jpg|Tramway du Mont-Blanc, at Bellevue Station (1,794 m) in Saint-Gervais-les-BainsImage:00 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc - JPG1.jpg|Jacques Balmat at the side of Horace-Benedict de Saussure, "The Father of Alpinism", in a monument erected at ChamonixImage:Grand Capucin, 2010 July.JPG|Grand Capucin (3,838 m) and its 400-meter vertical faceImage:Vanoise.jpg|Vanoise National ParkImage:Olan Ecrins National Park.jpg|Écrins National ParkImage:Bouqetin male.jpg|Alpine ibex in Aussois, SavoieImage:YvoireFlowers.JPG|Chalet in the medieval city of YvoireImage:Palais de l'Isle - prisons.jpg|Palais de l'Isle in Annecy
See also
Bibliography
- Raoul Blanchard (1938–1956), Les Alpes Occidentales. Paris: Édition Arthaud. (French)
- Roger Frison-Roche (1964), Les montagnes de la terre. Paris: Flammarion. (French)
- Sergio Marazzi (2005), Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA. Pavone Canavese (TO): Priuli & Verlucca editori. (Italian)
- Sergio Marazzi, La "Suddivisione orografica internazionale unificata del Sistema Alpino" (SOIUSA) - article with maps and illustrations, PDF (Italian)
Notes and References
- Web site: Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years . 2009-11-05 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230214082228/https://www.smh.com.au/environment/mont-blanc-shrinks-by-45cm-in-two-years-20091106-i0kk.html . 2023-02-14 . live .
- Web site: frenchalps.co.uk - Your website dedicated to information on the French Alps. frenchalps.co.uk. 2016-01-27. en-US. 2016-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20160207212534/http://frenchalps.co.uk/. live.
- Web site: French Alps Mountain Activities frenchalps.co.uk. frenchalps.co.uk. 2016-01-27. en-US. 2016-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20160308203311/http://frenchalps.co.uk/french-alps-mountain-activities/. live.
