The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

(e.g.

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

), the whole of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

, the northwestern part of

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 ...

(i.e.

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 the southwestern part of Switzerland (e.g.

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 ...

). In the southeast the range is bounded by the Italian Padan Plain. In the west, the valley of the Rhone river separates it from the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

. The northernmost part of the Western Alps - in the wide meaning of the term - is formed by the Swiss Prealps Sub-Range. The peaks and mountain passes are higher compared to the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in t ...

, while the range itself is not so broad and more arched.

''Partizione delle Alpi''

In the ''

Partizione delle Alpi The (Italian for "Partition of the Alps", german: Einteilung der Alpen, french: Partition des Alpes) is a classification of the mountain ranges of the Alps, that is primarily used in Italian literature, but also in France and Switzerland. It was ...

'' (in English literally ''Partition of the Alps''), adopted by the Italian ''Comitato Geografico Nazionale '' (National Geographic Committee) in 1926 following the IX ''Congresso Geografico Italiano'' (Italian Geographic Congress), the Alpine Range is divided into three main parts: Western, Central and Eastern Alps.''Archivio veneto'', VV.AA., Deputazione di storia patria per le Venezie, 1971 In this traditional subdivision, the Western Alps start from the Bocchetta di Altare (or ''Colle di Cadibona'') and end with the Col Ferret. The ''Partizione delle Alpi'' divides the Western Alps into the following eight sections (in brackets the section number):

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy ...

(''1''), Cottian Alps (''2''),

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 ...

(''3''), Provence Alps (''4''), Dauphiné Alps (''5''), Provence Prealps (''6''), Dauphiné Prealps (''7'') and Savoy Prealps (''8'').

References

Maps

* Italian official cartography ('' Istituto Geografico Militare'' - IGM); on-line version
www.pcn.minambiente.it
* French official cartography ('' Institut Géographique National'' - IGN); on-line version:
www.geoportail.fr
* Swiss official cartography ('' Swiss Federal Office of Topography'' - Swisstopo); on-line version:
map.geo.admin.ch
{{Authority control * Mountain ranges of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountain ranges of Italy Mountain ranges of Monaco Mountain ranges of Switzerland

''Partizione delle Alpi''

See also

References

Maps