The Mont Blanc Massif (Italian: Massiccio del Monte Bianco; French: Massif du Mont-Blanc) is a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France (Haute-Savoie and Savoie), Italy (Aosta Valley), and Switzerland (western Valais). The Mont Blanc Massif is sometimes considered to be part of either the Pennine Alps or the Graian Alps.
The Col Ferret separates it from the Pennine Alps; the Little St Bernard Pass separates it from the Graian Alps; the Arve valley separates it from the Aiguilles Rouges and the French Prealps.
The French side of the Mont Blanc Massif is drained by the rivers Arve and Isère. The Italian side is drained by the river Dora Baltea. The Swiss side is drained by left tributaries of the river Rhône.
Mont Blanc is crossed by a 11.6 km tunnel that connects Courmayeur (Italy) to Chamonix (France). The tunnel is sadly famous for a major accident which occurred on March 24th 1999, when a truck caught fire inside the tunnel and caused a fire that lasted for 53 hours and cost the lives of 39 people.
Contents |
Peaks
The main peaks of the Mont Blanc Massif are:
| Name | Height (metres) | Height (feet) |
|---|---|---|
| Mont Blanc | 4,810 | 15,774 |
| Mont Blanc de Courmayeur | 4,748 | 15,577 |
| Mont Maudit | 4,465 | 14,648 |
| Dôme du Goûter | 4,304 | 14,121 |
| Mont Blanc du Tacul | 4,248 | 13,937 |
| Grandes Jorasses | 4,208 | 13,806 |
| Aiguille Verte | 4,122 | 13,523 |
| Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey | 4,112 | 13,491 |
| Aiguille de Bionnassay | 4,066 | 13,341 |
| Dent du Géant | 4,013 | 13,166 |
| Les Droites | 4,000 | 13,123 |
| Aiguille de Tré-la-Tête | 3,930 | 12,894 |
| Aiguille d'Argentière | 3,901 | 12,802 |
| Aiguille de Triolet | 3,876 | 12,717 |
| Aiguille du Midi | 3,843 | 12,609 |
| Tour Noir | 3,836 | 12,586 |
| Aiguille des Glaciers | 3,834 | 12,579 |
| Mont Dolent | 3,823 | 12,543 |
| Aiguille du Chardonnet | 3,822 | 12,540 |
| Aiguille du Dru | 3,754 | 12,316 |
| Dômes de Miage | 3,688 | 12,100 |
| Aiguille du Tour | 3,540 | 11,615 |
| Aiguilles Dorées | 3,519 | 11,545 |
| Grand Darray | 3,514 | 11,529 |
| Grande Lui | 3,509 | 11,512 |
| Name | Height (metres) | Height (feet) |
|---|---|---|
| Aiguille du Grépon | 3,502 | 11,489 |
| Aiguille des Charmoz | 3,442 | 11,293 |
| Le Portalet | 3,344 | 10,971 |
| Pointe d'Orny | 3,274 | 10,742 |
| Mont Favre | 3,259 | 10,693 |
| Tita Neire | 3,175 | 10,417 |
| Grande Pointe des Planereuses | 3,151 | 10,338 |
| Pointe de Léchaud | 3,127 | 10,260 |
| Mont Buet | 3,109 | 10,201 |
| Pointe des Plines | 3,057 | 10,030 |
| Pic de Tenneverge | 2,982 | 9,784 |
| Aiguille du Belvédère (Aiguilles Rouges) | 2,966 | 9,731 |
| Le Génépi | 2,884 | 9,462 |
| Crammont | 2,737 | 8,980 |
| Pointe des Fours | 2,719 | 8,921 |
| Pointe du Colloney | 2,692 | 8,832 |
| Pointe Ronde | 2,655 | 8,711 |
| Catogne | 2,599 | 8,527 |
| Mont Joly | 2,527 | 8,291 |
| Brevent | 2,525 | 8,284 |
| Pointe de Sales | 2,494 | 8,183 |
| Aiguille de Varan | 2,488 | 8,163 |
| Mont Chetif | 2,343 | 7,687 |
| La Breya | 2,194 | 7,198 |
Glaciers
Largest glaciers :
Passes
The main passes of the Mont Blanc Massif are shown in the table below.
| name | location | type | elevation (m/ft) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Col de la Brenva | Courmayeur to Chamonix | snow | 4,333 | 14,217 |
| Col de Triolet | Chamonix to Courmayeur | snow | 3,691 | 12,110 |
| Col d'Argentière | Chamonix to Orsières | snow | 3,516 | 11,536 |
| Col de Talefre | Chamonix to Courmayeur | snow | 3,484 | 11,430 |
| Col de Miage | Les Contamines to Courmayeur | snow | 3,376 | 11,077 |
| Col du Géant | Chamonix to Courmayeur | snow | 3,371 | 11,060 |
| Col du Chardonnet | Chamonix to Orsières | snow | 3,325 | 10,909 |
| Col du Tour | Chamonix to Orsières | snow | 3,280 | 10,762 |
| Fenetre de Saleinaz | Saleinaz Glacier to Trient Glacier | snow | 3,264 | 10,709 |
| Col de Breuil | Bourg-Saint-Maurice to La Thuile | snow | 2,879 | 9,446 |
| Col du Mont Tondu | Les Contamines to Courmayeur | snow | 2,590 | 8,498 |
| Col Ferret | Courmayeur to Orsières | bridle path | 2,533 | 8,311 |
| Col de la Seigne | Les Chapieux to Courmayeur | bridle path | 2,512 | 8,242 |
| Col de Susanfe | Champéry to Salvan | foot path | 2,500 | 8,202 |
| Col du Bonhomme | Contamines to Les Chapieux | bridle path | 2,483 | 8,147 |
| Col de Sageroux | Sixt to Champéry | foot path | 2,413 | 7,917 |
| Col d'Anterne | Sixt to Servoz | bridle path | 2,263 | 7,425 |
| Col de Balme | Chamonix to the Trient Valley | bridle path | 2,201 | 7,221 |
| Little St Bernard Pass | Aosta to Moûtiers | road | 2188 | 7179 |
| Colle Checrouit | Courmayeur to the Lac de Combal | bridle path | 1,960 | 6,431 |
| Col de Voza | Chamonix to Les Contamines | bridle path | 1,675 | 5,496 |
| Col de la Forclaz (F) | Chamonix to Saint-Gervais | bridle path | 1,556 | 5,105 |
| Col de la Forclaz (CH) | Argentière to Martigny | road | 1,520 | 4,987 |
See also
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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