Biellese Alps

Alpi Biellesi
Alpi Biellesi
Prealpi Biellesi
	The snow-clad Biellese Alps seen from Lessona.
Highest point
Peak	Monte Mars
Elevation	2,600 m (8,500 ft)
Coordinates	45°38′04″N7°54′52″E / 45.63444°N 7.91444°E
Geography
Country	Italy
Provinces	Biella, Turin, Vercelli and Aosta Valley
Regions	Piedmont and Aosta Valley
Rivers	Dora Baltea, Elvo, Cervo and Sesia
Settlement	Biella
Parent range	Pennine Alps
Geology
Orogeny	Alpine orogeny

Last updated September 17, 2024

The Biellese Alps (Alpi Biellesi or Prealpi Biellesi in Italian) are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located between Piemonte and Aosta Valley (Italy).

Etymology

Alpi Biellesi literally means Alps of Biellese; Biellese is the geographical and historical area surrounding Biella, nowadays included in the province of Biella.

Geography

Administratively most part of the range belongs to the province of Biella, while its northern part falls in the province of Vercelli and the western one is divided between Province of Turin and Aosta Valley.

SOIUSA classification

According to SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain range is an Alpine supergroup classified in the following way:^[1]

main part = Western Alps
major sector = North-Western Alps
section = Pennine Alps
subsection = Southern Valsesia Alps
supergroup =Alpi Biellesi
code = I/B-9.IV-A

Borders

Borders of the Alpi Biellesi are:

Colle del Loo (2,452 m) and Valsesia from Val Vogna to Varallo Sesia (north),
Valsesia from Varallo Sesia to Gattinara (east),
Po plain between Gattinara and Ivrea (south),
Dora Baltea until Pont Saint Martin and Lys creek until Gaby and Colle del Loo (west).

Subdivision

Catena Tre Vescovi - Mars

The Alpi Biellesi are divided into two alpine groups, one of them further subdivided in subgroups (in brackets is reported their SOIUSA code):

Catena Tre Vescovi - Mars (A.1)
Catena Monte Bo - Barone (A.2)
- Costiera Talamone-Barone (A.2.a)
- Costiera Monte Bo-Punta del Cravile-Monticchio (A.2.b)^[1]

These two subgroups are connected by Bocchetta del Croso.

Geology

From the geological point of view the Alpi Biellesi are composed by an alpine zone in the strict sense of the word and a prealpine zone, divided by the Insubric line (locally named Linea del Canavese). This important geologic fault, which forms the border between the Adriatic Plate and the European Plate, crosses Biellese from SW to NE through Bocchetto di Sessera and Bocchetta della Boscarola passes. Thus hills and mountains (i.e. Monte Barone) located south-east of the line can be considered part of southern Apulian foreland while most part of the range, located NW of the line, geologically belongs to the crystalline zone of the Alps.^[2]

Notable summits

Name	metres	Name	metres
Monte Mars	2,600	Mont de Pianeritz	2,584
Punta Loozoney	2,579	Monte Bo	2,556
Monte Cresto	2,548	Cima Tre Vescovi	2,501
Monte I Gemelli	2,476	Punta della Gragliasca	2,397
Monte Camino	2,388	Colma di Mombarone	2,371
Monte Mucrone	2,335	Monte Tovo	2,230
Bec di Nona	2,085	Monte Barone	2,044

Notable passes

Name	location	type	metres
Colle della Mologna Grande	Gaby - Piedicavallo	bridle path	2,364
Colle del Loo	Gressoney-Saint-Jean - Rassa	bridle path	2,452
Bocchetta del Croso	Piedicavallo - Rassa	bridle path	1,943
Colle della Mologna Piccola	Gaby - Piedicavallo	bridle path	2,208
Colle della Barma	Oropa (Biella) - Fontainemore	bridle path	2,257
Bocchetto di Sessera	Campiglia Cervo - Trivero - Valle Sessera	road	1,373
Bocchetta della Boscarola	Scopello - Valle Sessera	dirt road	1,423
Colle della Gragliasca	Rosazza - Fontainemore	footpath	2,208
Colle della Vecchia	Piedicavallo - Gaby	bridle path	2,185
Colle della Lace	Sordevolo - Settimo Vittone - Lillianes	footpath	2,121

Winter sports

In the Alpi Biellesi are located some ski resorts: Oropa (Biella) in the western part, with downhill skiing slopes ranging from 1,335 to 2,391 m;^[3] Alpe di Mera (Scopello) and Bielmonte in the eastern part of the range. Near Bielmonte is also possible to practice cross country skiing with more than 30 km of maintained trails starting from Bocchetto Sessera (1,373 m).^[4]

Hiking and climbing

Many climbing routes of varying length and difficulty are described across the mountain range. Some of the most renowned are in the monte Mars area, like via Innominata^[5] and cresta dei Carisey.^[6] In the Alpi Biellesi there also are several vie ferratas, particularly around Oropa.^[7]

The Alta Via delle Alpi Biellesi (literally high way of the Alpi Biellesi), a long-distance hiking trail which requires some climbing skills, covers the mountain range starting from Piedicavallo and ending in the village of Bagneri (Muzzano). The trekking is usually divided into five stretches and along it is possible to get food and accommodation in the following alpine huts: rifugio Rivetti, rifugio della Vecchia, capanna Renata al Monte Camino, rifugio Coda and rifugio Mombarone.^[8]

Bibliography

Regis, Giancarlo; Renza Piana Regis (2001). Nuova Guida delle Alpi Biellesi. Biella: Vittorio Giovannacci.
Castello, Alessandro; Sandro Zoia (2011). Alpi Biellesi e Valsesiane. Guida dei Monti d'Italia (in Italian). Touring Club Italiano.

Maps

Italian official cartography ( Istituto Geografico Militare - IGM); on-line version: www.pcn.minambiente.it
Provincia di Biella cartography: Carta dei sentieri della Provincia di Biella, 1:25.00 scale, 2004; on line version: webgis.provincia.biella.it Archived 2019-11-05 at the Wayback Machine

Related Research Articles

Mont Mars at 2,600 m, is the highest peak of the Biellese Alps, north-western Italy.

Punta Tre Vescovi is a peak in the Biellese Prealps, in northern Italy. On its top, three valleys meet: Lys Valley, Valsesia, and Cervo Valley.

Monte Bo is a mountain in the Alpi Biellesi, a sub-range of Pennine Alps.

Colma di Mombarone is a mountain of the Biellese Alps, a sub-range of Pennine Alps, in northern Italy. It visually marks, along with Monte Gregorio on the opposite side, the entrance of Aosta Valley from the Po plain. On its top in 1900 was built a huge statue, still located there, of Jesus Christ.

Monte Barone is a mountain of the Alpi Biellesi, a sub-range of the Pennine Alps. Due to its isolation it offers a noteworthy point of view towards the Po plain and can be seen from quite a long distance away.

Bocchetta del Croso is a pedestrian pass across the Alpi Biellesi. It connects Cervo valley (BI) and Valsesia (VC), both in Piemonte (Italy).

Monte Tagliaferro is a mountain of the Pennine Alps. It is one of the most popular hiking destination of Valsesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpi Cusiane</span>

The Alpi Cusiane are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located in Piemonte (Italy).

Corno Bianco is a mountain of the Pennine Alps. It's a popular climbing destination of Valsesia.

The Strona di Mosso is a 23-kilometre (14 mi) long creek in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.

The Sessera is a 35.5 kilometres (22.1 mi) long torrent in the Piedmont region - NW Italy.

Bocchetto Sessera or Bocchetto di Sessera is a mountain pass across the Alpi Biellesi. It connects Strona di Mosso Valley and Valsessera, both in the province of Biella.

Monte Cresto (2,548 m) is the third highest peak of the Province of Biella after Monte Mars (2,600 m) and Monte Bo (2,556 m).

The Altemberg is a mountain in the Pennine Alps of north-western Italy; with an elevation of 2,395 m (7,858 ft) is the highest peak of the Alpi Cusiane.

The Monte Capio is a mountain in the Pennine Alps of north-western Italy; with an elevation of 2,172 m (7,126 ft) is one of the highest peaks of the Alpi Cusiane.

Monte Mucrone is an Alpine mountain of Piedmont.

The Monte I Gemelli is an Alpine mountain located between Aosta Valley and Piedmont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Zeda</span> Mountain in Italy

The Monte Zeda is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps belonging to the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italy).

The Monte Massone, at an elevation of 2,161 m (7,090 ft), is a mountain of the Pennine Alps in North-western Italy.

The hydrography of the Biella region, that is, the distribution of surface water in the province of Biella, Italy, falls almost entirely in the two basins of the Cervo and Sessera rivers, both tributaries of the Sesia. Some areas of the southwestern Biella region, on the other hand, are tributaries of the Dora Baltea; the largest natural body of water in the province, Lake Viverone, is also located in this area. In addition to the natural bodies of water, there are several irrigation canals in the plains built mainly to support rice cultivation and some reservoirs built in the foothills. In addition to irrigation, surface water is also used in the Biella area to serve the region's numerous industries and for potable water use, because the area is densely inhabited and groundwater capture is insufficient. Hydroelectric use, on the other hand, is very limited and is substantially confined to the Sessera Valley. The streams of the Biella region can be subject to ruinous floods as well, which have caused numerous damage to property and people over time.

References

This article was originally translated from its counterpart on the Italian Wikipedia, specifically from this version.

1 2 Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. p. 134. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.
↑ Falletti, Paolo; Chiara Girelli (2009). Itinerari geologici in Piemonte - La Valsesia. Torino: ARPA - Piemonte. p. 22. ISBN 978-88-7479-120-0 . Retrieved 2020-03-03.
↑ Oropa page on en.skiinfo.com ^{[ permanent dead link ]} (accessed on March 2012)
↑ Centro Sci di Fondo Bocchetto Sessera, trails map on www.bocchetto.it (accessed on March 2012)
↑ Alpinismo, web page on www.montagnabiellese.com (accessed on September 2012)
↑ Monte Mars - Cresta dei Carisey - 2600, description on www.vienormali.it (accessed on September 2012)
↑ Vie ferrate e sentieri attrezzati, web page on www.montagnabiellese.com/ita/VieFerrate (accessed on September 2012)
↑ Alta Via delle Alpi Biellesi, web page on www.montagnabiellese.com Archived 2012-04-10 at the Wayback Machine (accessed on September 2012)

External links

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[soiu-1] 1 2 Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. p. 134. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.

[2] Falletti, Paolo; Chiara Girelli (2009). Itinerari geologici in Piemonte - La Valsesia. Torino: ARPA - Piemonte. p. 22. ISBN 978-88-7479-120-0 . Retrieved 2020-03-03.

[3] Oropa page on en.skiinfo.com ^{[ permanent dead link ]} (accessed on March 2012)

[4] Centro Sci di Fondo Bocchetto Sessera, trails map on www.bocchetto.it (accessed on March 2012)

[5] Alpinismo, web page on www.montagnabiellese.com (accessed on September 2012)

[6] Monte Mars - Cresta dei Carisey - 2600, description on www.vienormali.it (accessed on September 2012)

[7] Vie ferrate e sentieri attrezzati, web page on www.montagnabiellese.com/ita/VieFerrate (accessed on September 2012)

[8] Alta Via delle Alpi Biellesi, web page on www.montagnabiellese.com Archived 2012-04-10 at the Wayback Machine (accessed on September 2012)

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