The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la,

Alpes Poeninae The Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae (officially Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina), were a small Alpine province of the Roman Empire created after the merging of the ''Alpes Poeninae'' (or ''Vallis Poenina' ...

), also known as the Valais Alps, are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

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, Sw ...

. 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 ...

(

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 Sw ...

) and 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 ...

). The Pennine Alps are amongst the three highest major subranges of the Alps, together with the

Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type=Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , le ...

and the

Mont Blanc massif The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...

Geography

The Italian side is drained by the rivers

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� ...

Sesia The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po. Geography Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia a ...

and

Toce The Toce () is a river in Piedmont, Italy, which stretches the length of the Val d'Ossola from the Swiss border to Lake Maggiore into which it debouches near Fondotoce in the commune of Verbania. The river is long and is formed in the upper V ...

, tributaries of the Po. The Swiss side is drained by the Rhône. The

Great St Bernard Tunnel The Great St Bernard Tunnel (french: Tunnel du Grand Saint-Bernard, it, Traforo del Gran San Bernardo, german: Grosser-Sankt-Bernhard-Tunnel) is a road tunnel complementing the Great St Bernard Pass, linking Martigny (in the Swiss canton of Va ...

, under the

Great St Bernard Pass it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard , photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg , photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background , elevation_m = 2469 , elevation_ref ...

, leads from

Martigny, Switzerland Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octodurien ...

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest o ...

Morphology

The main chain (

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 ...

between the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

) runs from west to east on the border between Italy (south) and

(north). From

Mont Vélan Mont Vélan is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. At 3,727, metres Mont Vélan is the highest summit lying between the Great St Bernard Pass and Grand Combin. Two large glaciers cover its northe ...

, the first high summit east of St Bernard Pass, the chain rarely goes below 3000 metres and contains many

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 ...

such as

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of th ...

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

. The valleys are quite similar on both side of the border, being generally oriented perpendicular to the main chain and descending progressively into the Rhône Valley on the north and the

on the south. Unlike many other mountain ranges, the higher peaks are often located outside the main chain and found themselves between the northern valleys (

Grand Combin The Grand Combin is a mountain massif in the western Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais. At a height of the summit of ''Combin de Grafeneire'' is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and the second most prominent of the Pennine Alps. The Grand ...

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 ...

Mischabel The Dom is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located between Randa and Saas-Fee in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With a height of , it is the seventh highest summit in the Alps, overall. Based on prominence, it can be regarded as the thi ...

Weissmies The Weissmies is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland near the village of Saas-Fee. It is the easternmost four-thousander of its range. Geography The Weissmies is located on the main Alpine chain, on a ma ...

Peaks

File:2016 1129 KL1556 Monte Rosa Matterhorn.jpg, Aerial view of the Pennine Alps from a plane above Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) File:MonteRosa004.jpg, Monte Rosa File:Matterhornnorth.jpg, Matterhorn (Cervino) The chief peaks of the Pennine Alps are:

Glaciers

Main

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s: *

Gorner Glacier The Gorner Glacier (german: Gornergletscher) is a valley glacier found on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is about long (2014) and wide. The entire glacial area of the glacier rela ...

* Corbassière Glacier * Findel Glacier * Zmutt Glacier *

Zinal Glacier The Zinal Glacier (french: Glacier de Zinal) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . The glacier gives birth to the river La Navisence, which runs through a cave. ...

* Otemma Glacier *

Allalin Glacier The Allalin Glacier (german: Allalingletscher) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps near the Allalinhorn in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . The glacier is bordered on the west by the Allalinhorn, Ri ...

* Ferpècle Glacier *

Fee Glacier The Fee Glacier (german: Feegletscher) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973, it had a length of and an area of . It lies east of the Mischabel range, between the summit of Dom on ...

* Mont Miné Glacier * Ried Glacier * Turtmann Glacier *

Moiry Glacier The Moiry Glacier (french: Glacier de Moiry) is a 5 km long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 5.75 km2. See also *List of glaciers in Switzerland *Swiss Alps ...

* Arolla Glacier *

Moming Glacier The Moming Glacier (french: Glacier de Moming) is a 3 km long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 6.39 km2. See also * List of glaciers in Switzerland *Swiss Alps ...

* Cheilon Glacier * Rossbode Glacier

Passes

The chief passes of the Pennine Alps are:

Nature conservation

Some regional

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes ...

s, like the ''Parco Naturale Alta Valsesia'' (6,511 ha -

, IT), the ''Riserva Naturale Mont Mars'' (390 ha -

, IT) and the ''Regional park of Binn valley'' (15,891 ha -

, CH),''Ein regionaler Naturpark'', park site o
www.landschaftspark-binntal.ch
(accessed in April 2012) have been established on both sides of the main

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

Maps

* 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 ...

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

References

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Piedmont Mountains of Valais Mountains of Aosta Valley Mountains of Switzerland