Cima Garlenda is a mountain of the

Ligurian Alps The Ligurian Alps are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. A small part is located in France. They form the south-western extremity of the Alps, separated from the Apennines by the Colle di Cadibona. The Col de Tende and the Vermenagna valley ...

, in

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 ...

. After

Monte Saccarello , photo = Vetta del Saccarello.JPG , photo_caption = , elevation_m = 2201 , elevation_ref = ''Alpi Marittime e Liguri'', 1:50.000 map n.8, I.G.C. (Turin) , prominence_m = 165 , prominence_ref= , range = Ligurian Alps , listing = , ...

and

Monte Frontè Monte Frontè is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Alps. It is located in the province of province of Imperia. It lies at an altitude of 2,152 metres. After Monte Saccarello it is the second highest peak in the Ligurian region ...

it is the third

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

n summit.

Geography

The mountain is located in the

province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

, in

. In the

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

(''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') it belongs to the ''Nodo del Monte Saccarello'' (

SOIUSA code SOIUSA code is the code used in the International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps (ISMSA or SOIUSA), a proposal by Italian Alpinist, Sergio Marazzi, to re-categorize the mountains and mountain ranges of the Alps. The proposal has bee ...

: I/A-1.II-A.1.a). Cima Garlenda is located on the

main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the drainage divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest p ...

between

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drai ...

and

Arroscia The Arroscia is an Italian river in the provinces of Imperia. and Savona. Geography The river rises from monte Frontè, in the comune of Mendatica, not far from the French border. The Arroscia flows east and receives several tributaries. It t ...

valleys, and is divided from the neighbouring

by Passo Frontè ().

History

The slopes of Cima Garlenda were deforested during past centuries in order to increase

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

land. The lower part of the mountain was mainly used by

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

while is upper part was mainly grazed by

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s. The slopes of the mountain belonging to Arroscia Valley are still used for grazing.

Access to the summit

The summit of Cima Garlenda can easily be accessed following an unmarked track starting from passo Frontè, which is accessible by the ''

Alta Via dei Monti Liguri The ''Alta Via dei Monti Liguri'' (AV, literally "High Route of the Ligurian Mountains") is a long-distance waymarked hiking trail in the Italian region of Liguria. In about and 44 day hikes, it runs through the arc formed by Ligurian Alps ...

'', a long-distance trail from

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

(province of

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Muss ...

) to

Bolano Bolano ( lij, Bolan) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about northeast of La Spezia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,490 and an are ...

(province of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

). Its wide summit can also be accessed by

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

.''Monte Frontè (2152 m) & Cima Garlenda (2142 m)'', article o

(access: June 26, 2015)

Mountain huts

Rifugio Sanremo Rifugio Sanremo is a refuge in the Ligurian Alps in Italy. Located at 2,054 m, is the highest mountain hut in Liguria. History Rifugio Sanremo was built in 1950 and enlarged in 1984 with an upper floor containing a 30-bed dorm. It was dedicate ...

Conservation

The southern side of the mountain since 2007 is included in the

Parco naturale regionale delle Alpi Liguri The Regional Natural Park of the Ligurian Alps (in Italian ''Parco Naturale Regionale delle Alpi Liguri'') is a natural park in Province of Imperia (Liguria, Italy). It was established in 2007 by the '' legge regionale'' nr.34 of 15/11/2007. Geo ...

.''Parco Naturale Regionale delle Alpi Liguri''
www.parks.it
/ref>

References