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 ...

), 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 ...

(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 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 10,0 ...

. The northernmost part of the Western Alps - in the wide meaning of the term - is formed by the

Swiss Prealps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swis ...

Sub-Range. The peaks and mountain passes are higher compared to the Eastern Alps, 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 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 ...

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 French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Italian regions of Piedmont and Li ...

(''1''), Cottian Alps (''2''), Graian Alps (''3''), Provence Alps (''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 (''6''), Dauphiné Prealps (''7'') and Savoy Prealps (''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. Over ...

'' - 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); 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