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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(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 of ...

), the whole of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, 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 re ...

(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 ). 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 ...

(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 cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...

). In the southeast the range is bounded by the Italian

Padan Plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. 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'' (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 Colle di Cadibona - - is a mountain pass between Savona and Altare in the Ligurian Alps, delineating the boundary with the Apennine Mountains. It is also known as ''Bocchetta di Altare''. On the south-eastern side of the Alps Godovič Pass (Slov ...

(or ''Colle di Cadibona'') and end with the

Col Ferret The Col Ferret (or ''Grand Col Ferret'') is an Alpine pass between the canton of Valais and the Aosta Valley ( ). It is crossed by the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. Close to it stands the ''Petit Col Ferret'', at an elevation of , which separa ...

. 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 The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Ra ...

(''2''),

Graian Alps , it, Alpi Graie , photo = , photo_caption = , country_type = Countries , country = , subdivision1_type = Provinces/Regions , subdivision1 = , parent = Alps , borders_on = ...

(''3''),

Provence Alps The Provence Alps and Prealps (''Alpes et Préalpes de Provence'' in French) are a mountain range in the south-western part of the Alps, located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France). Provence Alps and Prealps encompass the south-western area o ...

(''4''),

Dauphiné Alps The Dauphiné Alps (french: Alpes du Dauphiné) are a group of mountain ranges in Southeastern France, west of the main chain of the Alps. Mountain ranges within the Dauphiné Alps include the Massif des Écrins in Écrins National Park, Belledon ...

(''5''),

Provence Prealps The Provence Alps and Prealps (''Alpes et Préalpes de Provence'' in French) are a mountain range in the south-western part of the Alps, located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France). Provence Alps and Prealps encompass the south-western area o ...

(''6''),

Dauphiné Prealps The Dauphiné Prealps (''Préalpes du Dauphiné'' in French) are a mountain range in the south-western part of the Alps. They are located in Rhône-Alpes and, marginally, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (south-eastern France). Dauphiné Prealps ar ...

(''7'') and

Savoy Prealps The Savoy Prealps (''Préalpes de Savoie'' in French) are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Rhône-Alpes (south-eastern France) and, marginally, in Valais (western Switzerland). Savoy Prealps encompass no ...

(''8'').

References

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
{{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