French Alps
French Alps | |
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File:FrenchAlps 03270006a.jpg
Aerial photograph of the Mont Blanc massif, the tallest mountain in the French Alps, seen from the west
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Highest point | |
Peak | Mont Blanc |
Elevation | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Geography | |
Ranges of the French Alps.
Ranges of the French Alps.
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French regions | Rhône-Alpes Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
Borders on | Swiss Alps, Italian Alps |
Geology | |
Orogeny | Alpine orogeny |
Age of rock | Tertiary |
Type of rock | Bündner schist, flysch and molasse |

The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others are shared with Switzerland and Italy.
At 4,808 metres (15,774 ft), Mont Blanc (Italian: Monte Bianco), on the French-Italian border, is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the highest Western European mountain.[1]
Notable towns in the French Alps include Grenoble, Chamonix, Annecy, Chambéry, Évian-les-Bains and Albertville.
Contents
Ranges and summits
Ski areas
The largest connected ski areas are:
- Les Trois Vallées (Courchevel, Méribel, La Tania, Brides-les-Bains, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Les Menuires, Val Thorens and Orelle): 338 slopes, 600 km of pistes.
- Portes du Soleil (Avoriaz, Châtel, Morzine, Les Gets, Saint-Jean d'Aulps, La Chapelle d'Abondance, Abondance, Montriond, Swiss resorts): 288 slopes, 650 km of slopes not entirely connected.
- Paradiski (La Plagne, Peisey-Vallandry, Les Arcs), Champagny-en-Vanoise: 239 slopes, 420 km of slopes.
- Via Lattea (Montgenèvre, Italian resorts): 214 slopes, 400 km of slopes.
- Évasion Mont-Blanc (Combloux, Megève, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, Les Contamines Monjoie): 183 slopes, 420 km of slopes not entirely connected.
- Espace Killy (Tignes, Val-d'Isère): 137 slopes, 300 km of slopes.
- Grand Massif (Flaine, Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns, Sixt): 134 slopes, 265 km of slopes.
- Les Aravis (La Clusaz, Manigod, La Croix Fry, Merdassier, Le Grand-Bornand): 133 slopes, 220 km of slopes not entirely connected.
- Les Grandes Rousses (L'Alpe d'Huez, Vaujany, Auris-en-Oisans, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard-Reculas): 117 slopes, 236 km of slopes.
- Serre Chevalier: 111 slopes, 250 km of slopes.
- La Forêt Blanche (Risoul, Vars): 104 slopes, 180 km of slopes.
- Les Sybelles (Le Corbier, La Toussuire, Les Bottières, Saint-Jean-d'Arves, Saint-Sorlin-d'Arves, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards): 96 slopes, 310 km of slopes.
- Valloire and Valmeinier: 83 slopes, 150 km of slopes.
- Grand Domaine (Valmorel, Saint-François-Longchamp): 82 slopes, 150 km of slopes
- Espace San Bernardo (La Rosière, La Thuile - Italy): 73 slopes, 150 km of slopes.
- Les Deux Alpes and La Grave: 69 slopes, 220 km of slopes.
The other large ski areas are:
- Le Val d'Arly (Praz-sur-Arly, Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe, Flumet): 150 km of slopes.
- L'Espace Cristal (Les Saisies, Crest-Voland): 80 km of slopes
- L'Espace Diamant is a combination of Espace Val d'Arly and Espace Cristal with 185 km of slopes
- Villard-de-Lans et Corrençon-en-Vercors: 125 km of slopes
- Valberg - Beuil les Launes: 90 km of slopes
- Espace Lumière (Pra Loup, Val d'Allos): 170 km of slopes
- Superdévoluy - La Joue du Loup: 100 km of slopes
Activities
There are a whole range of winter and summer activities available in the French Alps. In the winter, these include the obvious skiing and snowboarding as well as alternatives such as snowshoeing, sledging, glacier walking and ice diving.[2] Summer activities include bungee jumping, hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing.[3]
Gallery
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Mont Blanc (4,810 m)
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Aiguille du Dru (3,754 m)
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Aiguille Verte (4,122 m)
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Mer de Glace, Dent du Géant (4,013 m) and Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) in Chamonix (c. 1890)
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Tramway du Mont-Blanc, at Bellevue Station (1,794 m) in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
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Jacques Balmat at the side of Horace-Benedict de Saussure, "The Father of Alpinism", in a monument erected at Chamonix
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Grand Capucin (3,838 m) and its 400-meter vertical face
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Vanoise.jpg
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Alpine ibex in Aussois, Savoie
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YvoireFlowers.JPG
Chalet in the medieval city of Yvoire
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Palais de l'Isle - prisons.jpg
See also
- La Grande Odyssée
- 1924 Winter Olympics
- 1968 Winter Olympics
- 1992 Winter Olympics
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes
- List of national parks in the Alps
- List of ski areas and resorts in Europe
References
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- Raoul Blanchard (1938–1956), Les Alpes Occidentales. Paris: Édition Arthaud. (French)
- Roger Frison-Roche (1964), Les montagnes de la terre. Paris: Flammarion. (French)
- Sergio Marazzi (2005), Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA. Pavone Canavese (TO): Priuli & Verlucca editori. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8 (Italian)
- Sergio Marazzi, La "Suddivisione orografica internazionale unificata del Sistema Alpino" (SOIUSA) - article with maps and illustrations, PDF (Italian)
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commonsfr:Géographie des Alpes#Alpes occidentales