The Punta Bes is a 3,177 metres high

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

belonging to the Italian side of

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (french: Alpes grées ; it, Alpi Graie ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celtic tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the Mont Cenis pass and t ...

Geography

The mountain is located on the border between

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

, on the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

dividing Valle dell'Orco from

Valsavarenche Valsavarenche (local Valdôtain: ; known as ''Valsavara'' under fascist rule from 1939 to 1946, and as ''Valsavaranche'' from 1946 to 1976) is a ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley, northern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian R ...

, the latter tributary of the

Dora Baltea Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''. Strabo called it Δουρι ...

. A 3.112 m high saddle divides Punta bes from

Punta Leynir The Punta Leynir (Pointe du Leynir in French) is a 3,238 metres high mountain belonging to the Italian side of Graian Alps. Toponymy The name ''Leynir'' should come from ''Lago Nero'' (''Black Lake''), referring to the color of a small lake l ...

, while the Orco/Valsavarenche ridge continues towards the Colle del Nivolet. The Punta Bes, due to its location, offers a good view on the nearby

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

Gran Paradiso , photo = Gran_Paradiso.jpg , photo_caption = The Gran Paradiso , elevation_m = 4061 , elevation_ref =Geoportale IGM owww.pcn.minambiente.it/ref> , prominence_m = 1879 , prominence_ref = , range = Graian Alps , parent_peak = , listing = ...

SOIUSA classification

According to

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'') the mountain can be classified in the following way: * main part =

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ( ...

* major sector = North Western Alps * section =

* subsection = Central Graian Alps * supergroup = Catena Grande Sassière-Tsanteleina * group = Costiera Galisia-Entrelor-Bioula *

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

= I/B-7.III-A.1

Access to the summit

The mountain can be accessed from ''

Nivolet Pass The Nivolet Pass ( it, Colle del Nivolet or french: Col du Nivolet) is a mountain pass in the Eastern group of the Graian Alps in northern Italy. It is located at the top of the Orco Valley on the road from Turin to Ceresole Reale, in the Gran ...

'' (2.641 m); this route requires a good

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

experience. Along with Punta Bes many hikers also climb the nearby

Mountain huts

* Refuge ''Città di Chivasso'' (2,604 m). * Rifugio ''Albergo Savoia'' (2,534 m).

Nature protection

Punta Bes belongs to the

Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso Gran Paradiso National Park (Italian: ''Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso''; ), is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the ...

.Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 3 ''Il Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso'',

Istituto Geografico Centrale The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in Turin (Piedmont), known for its guide books and hiking maps mainly concerning the Western Alps and their cont ...

- Torino

Maps

Istituto Geografico Militare The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy. Overvie ...

(IGM) official maps of Italy, 1:25.000 and 1:100.000 scale
on-line version
* Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 3 ''Il Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso'',

- Torino

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bes, Punta Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of Aosta Valley Mountains of Piedmont Mountains of the Graian Alps