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This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, as defined by the
International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA, lit. ''International Union of Alpine Clubs''), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France ...
(UIAA). All are located within
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
or
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and are often referred to by mountaineers as the Alpine four-thousanders. A further table of 46 subsidiary mountain points which did not meet the UIAA's selection criteria is also included. The official UIAA list of 82 mountain summits, titled in English as 'The 4000ers of the Alps' was first published in 1994. They were selected primarily on a
prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of at least ) above the highest adjacent col or pass. Additional criteria were used to deselect or include some points, based on the mountain's overall morphology and mountaineering significance. (For example, the
Grand Gendarme The Grand Gendarme is a minor summit on the Weisshorn north ridge in the Pennine Alps. Because of its prominence it was included in the enlarged list of alpine four-thousanders This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of o ...
on the
Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Val ...
was excluded, despite meeting the prominence criterion as it was simply deemed part of that mountain's ridge.) A further 46 additional points of mountaineering significance, such as Pic Eccles, which did not meet the UIAA's primary selection criteria, were then included within an 'enlarged list'. For a list containing many of the independent mountains of the Alps (i.e. only those with a prominence greater than and covering all countries, see List of prominent mountains of the Alps. Another, less formal, list of 4000 metre alpine mountains, containing only independent peaks with a
prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of over 100m, and based on an earlier 1990s publications by Richard Goedeke, contains just 51 mountains.


Official list

The table shows the 82 four-thousanders in the Alps that are recognised by the UIAA. They are located in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(48),Cantons of
Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
(45),
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
(7) and Graubünden (1)
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(38) and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
(25). ''Clicking the symbol at the head of the column sorts the table by that column’s data.''


Enlarged list

The following expandable table forms an extended list of 46 ‘lesser summits’ identified by the UIAA. These are either: *secondary summits or gendarmes which satisfy the topographic criteria, but are part of other well-defined mountain summits already listed above, *or have failed to meet the topographic criteria, but have been included through more subjective criteria (i.e. morphological or mountaineering significance).


Number of Alpine four-thousanders and distribution

Since no exact and formal definition of a 'mountain' exists, the number of 4000-metre summits is arbitrary. The
topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
is an important factor to decide the official nomination of a summit. The 'Official list' proposed by the UIAA is based not only on prominence but also on other criteria such as the
morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
(general appearance) and
mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
interest. Summits such as Punta Giordani or
Mont Blanc de Courmayeur Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (; it, Monte Bianco di Courmayeur) is a point () on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc that forms the peak of the massive south-east face of the mountain. It is connected to the main summit via the ''Col Major'' (). De ...
have much less than the 30 metres minimum prominence criterion but are included in the list because of the other criteria. In comparison, the official 14 eight-thousanders recognised by the UIAA have all a prominence of over 600 metres (despite a proposed expansion). A minimum prominence criterion of 300 metresSuch as the one used in
List of prominent mountains of the Alps above 3000 m This page tabulates only the most prominent mountains of the Alps, selected for having a topographic prominence of ''at least'' , and all of them exceeding in height. Although the list contains 537 summits, some significant alpine mountains ar ...
would reduce the number of Alpine four-thousanders to only 29, whilst a prominence criterion of 100 metres would raise it to 49. The table below gives the number of four-thousanders as a function of their minimum prominence.


See also

* :Alpine three-thousanders *
List of mountain lists Perhaps the first of what would become many notable mountain lists around the world was Sir Hugh Munro’s catalogue of the Munros, the peaks above 3,000’ elevation in Scotland. Once defined the list became a popular target for what became know ...
– list of peak-bagging lists


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Dumler, Helmut and Willi P. Burkhardt, ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', Diadem, 1994 () * Goedeke, Richard, ''Alpine 4000m Peaks by the Classic Routes'', (2nd ed.) Menasha Ridge Press, 1997 () * Goedeke, ''Richard, 4000er Tourenführer, Die Normalrouten auf alle Viertausender der Alpen'', Bruckmann 01.04.2022 (ISBN 978-3-7343-2419-2) * McLewin, Will, ''In Monte Viso’s Horizon: Climbing All the Alpine 4000m Peaks'', Ernest Press, 1991 () * Moran, Martin, ''The 4000m Peaks of the Alps: Selected Climbs'', Alpine Club, 2007 () * Club 4000, ''Tutti i 4000 - L'aria sottile dell'alta quota'', Vivalda Editori - CAI Torino, 2010 ()


External links


UIAA: Mountain ClassificationDie Viertausender der AlpenClub 4000The 4000m Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Alpine Four-Thousanders *
Four-thousanders A four-thousander is a mountain summit that is at least 4,000 metres above sea level. Because the highest peaks in Europe fall into this category, the summits of four-thousanders are popular in Europe with climbers and mountaineers as climbing go ...
Mountaineering in the Alps