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

. They are located in Switzerland (

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 ...

) and

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 ...

(

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 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, Sesia and Toce, tributaries of the Po. The Swiss side is drained by the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. The Great St Bernard Tunnel, under the Great St Bernard Pass, leads from Martigny, Switzerland to

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 ...

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 ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, 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) ...

) runs from west to east on the border between

(south) and Switzerland (north). From Mont Vélan, the first high summit east of St Bernard Pass, the chain rarely goes below 3000 metres and contains many four-thousanders 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 ...

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

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, Weisshorn, Mischabel, Weissmies).

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 a ...

s: * Gorner Glacier * Corbassière Glacier * Findel Glacier *

Zmutt Glacier The Zmutt Glacier (german: Zmuttgletscher) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . See also *List of glaciers in Switzerland *List of glaciers *Retreat of glacie ...

* Zinal Glacier *

Otemma Glacier The Otemma Glacier (french: Glacier d'Otemma) 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 but, like most other alpine glaciers, is known to be receding. ...

* Allalin Glacier *

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

* Fee Glacier *

Mont Miné Glacier The Mont Miné Glacier (french: Glacier du Mont Miné) is a long glacier (2005) in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . See also *List of glaciers in Switzerland *List of glaciers *Retreat of glaci ...

* Ried Glacier *

Turtmann Glacier The Turtmann Glacier (german: Turtmanngletscher) 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 5.91 km2. The glacier is located north of Bishorn and Weisshorn. ...

* Moiry Glacier * 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 The Rossbode Glacier (german: Rossbodegletscher) is a 3.5 km long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 1.87 km². See also *List of glaciers in Switzerland *Swi ...

Passes

The chief passes of the Pennine Alps are:

Nature conservation

Some regional nature parks, 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); on-line version:
map.geo.admin.ch
* Italian official cartography ('' Istituto Geografico Militare'' - 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