The Graian Alps (french: Alpes grées ; it, Alpi Graie ) are a mountain range in the western part of 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, Swi ...

Etymology

The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli''

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the

Mont Cenis Mont Cenis ( it, Moncenisio) is a massif (el. 3,612 m / 11,850 ft at Pointe de Ronce) and a pass (el. 2,085 m / 6,840 ft) in Savoie (France), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps. Route The term "Mont Cenis" cou ...

pass and the

Viù Viù is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Viù's central square used to feature a wooden statue of Pinocchio, which is 6.53 meters tall and weighs abo ...

valley. Other sources claim that the name comes from the Celtic "Graig" meaning rock/stone, literally the Rocky Mountains

Geography

The Graian Alps are located in France ( Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), Italy (

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

and the

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 ...

), and Switzerland (western

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 26 cantons forming the S ...

). The French side of the Graian Alps is drained by the river Isère (

Tarentaise valley The Tarentaise Valley (french: Vallée de la Tarentaise, ; frp, Tarentèsa) is a valley of the Isère River in the heart of the French Alps, located in the Savoy region of France. The valley is named for the ancient town of ''Darantasia'', the ...

) and its tributary Arc (

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Location The Mau ...

valley), and by the

Arve The Arve (french: L'Arve, ) is a river in France (''département'' of Haute-Savoie), and Switzerland (canton of Geneva). A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long, of which 9 km in Switzerland. Its catchment area is , of which 80 km2 ...

. The Italian side is drained by the rivers

Dora Riparia The Dora Riparia (; pms, Dòira Rivaira; french: Doire Ripaire or ''Doire''; la, Duria minor) is an alpine river, a left-hand tributary of the Po. It is long (of which 5 km in France), with a drainage basin. It originates in the Cottian ...

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 Δουρ� ...

Orco The Orco ( pms, Eva d'òr, that is lit. ''Water of gold''; la, Orgus) is an Italian river. It originates in the Piedmontese slopes of Gran Paradiso and after about reaches the Po river near Chivasso, in the Metropolitan City of Turin. Its drai ...

and Stura di Lanzo, tributaries of the Po. The Graian Alps can also be divided into the following four groups: * the Mont Blanc group (north of the Little St Bernard Pass), including the

Beaufortain Beaufortain is a valley in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It extends around the commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations m ...

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 ...

* the Central group (the watershed between the Little St Bernard Pass and the Col du Mont Cenis) * the Western or French group, * and the Eastern or Italian group.

Peaks

The main peaks of the Graian Alps are:

Mont Blanc group

Central group

Eastern group

Western group

Passes

The main passes of the Graian Alps are shown in the table below. The group in which the pass is located is indicated with "MB" for Mont Blanc group, "C" for Central group, "E" for Eastern group, and "W" for Western group.

Nature conservation

The western group contains the

Vanoise National Park Vanoise National Park (french: Parc national de la Vanoise) is a French national park between the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys in the French Alps, containing the Vanoise massif. It was created in 1963 as the first national park in France. ...

, established in 1972 and covering the eastern group contains the Gran Paradiso National Park, the oldest Italian national park. Also on the Italian side is located the ''Parco Regionale del Monte Avic'', a nature park of 5,747 ha established by Regione

Valle d'Aosta , 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 , ...

.''Parco del Mont Avic'', home page o
www.montavic.info
(accessed on April 2012)

Maps

* Italian official cartography (''

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); on-line version
www.pcn.minambiente.it
* French official cartography (''

Institut Géographique National An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

'' - IGN); on-line version:
www.geoportail.fr
* Swiss official cartography (''

Swiss Federal Office of Topography Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography (in German: ''Bundesamt für Landestopografie''; French: ''Office fédéral de topographie''; Italian: ''Ufficio federale di topografia''; Romansh: ''Uffizi federal da ...

'' - Swisstopo); on-line version:
map.geo.admin.ch

References

External links

Ascents in Gran Paradiso group
- Czech and English

- English {{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountain ranges of Italy Mountain ranges of Switzerland Mountain ranges of Piedmont