The Lepontine Alps are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy.
The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the water divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest peaks of a range. The Alps are something of an unusual case in that several significant groups of mountains are separated from the main chain by sizable distances. Among these groups are the Dauphine Alps, the Eastern and Western Graians, the entire Bernese Alps, the Tödi, Albula and Silvretta groups, the Jura Mountains, Ortler and Adamello ranges, and the Dolomites of South Tyrol, as well as the lower Alps of Vorarlberg, Bavaria and Salzburg.
The 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 the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the Hörnli, Furggen, Leone/Lion, and Zmutt ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the north-east and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman Era.
The Great St Bernard Pass is the third highest road pass in Switzerland, at an elevation of 2,469 m (8,100 ft). It connects Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland with Aosta in the region Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the lowest pass lying on the ridge between the two highest mountains of the Alps, Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa. It is located on the main watershed that separates the basin of the Rhône from that of the Po.
The Breithorn is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps with its highest peak of the same name, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It lies on the main chain of the Alps, approximately halfway between the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa and east of the Theodul Pass. Most of the massif is glaciated and includes several subsidiary peaks, all located east of the main summit: the Central Breithorn, the western Breithorn Twin, the Gendarm and the Roccia Nera. The main summit is sometimes distinguished by the name Western Breithorn. The nearest settlements are Zermatt (Valais) and St-Jacques.
The Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont (Italy). The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland. The Simplon Tunnel was built beneath the vicinity of the pass in the early 20th century to carry rail traffic between the two countries.
The Dufourspitze is the highest peak of Monte Rosa, an ice-covered mountain massif in the Alps. Dufourspitze is the highest mountain peak of both Switzerland and the Pennine Alps and is also the second-highest mountain of the Alps and Western Europe, after Mont Blanc. It is located between Switzerland and Italy.
The Klein Matterhorn is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At 3,883 metres (12,740 ft) above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or gondola lift, as well as by any other means of transport. The Klein Matterhorn is part of the Breithorn massif and overlooks on its south side the almost equally high flat glacier named Breithorn Plateau, just north of the international border with Italy. The name "Klein Matterhorn" is a reference to its much larger neighbour, the Matterhorn, which lies 7 km (4.3 mi) away across the Theodul Pass.
Monte Rosa is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is between Italy's and Switzerland's (Valais). Monte Rosa is the second highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe, after Mont Blanc.
The Dom is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located between Randa and Saas-Fee in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With a height of 4,545 m (14,911 ft), it is the seventh highest summit in the Alps, overall. Based on prominence, it can be regarded as the third highest mountain in the Alps, and the second highest in Switzerland, after Monte Rosa. The Dom is the main summit of the Mischabel group, which is the highest massif lying entirely in Switzerland.
The Alps cover a large area. This article describes the delimitation of the Alps as a whole and of subdivisions of the range, follows the course of the main chain of the Alps and discusses the lakes and glaciers found in the region.
The Weissmies 4,017 m (13,179 ft) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland near the village of Saas-Fee. It is the easternmost four-thousander of its range.
The Breithorn is a mountain located in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland (Valais) and Italy.
Lyskamm, also known as Silberbast, is a mountain in the Pennine Alps lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It consists of a five-kilometre-long ridge with two distinct peaks. The mountain has gained a reputation for seriousness because of the many cornices lying on the ridge and the frequent avalanches, thus leading to its nickname the Menschenfresser.
Castor is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Valais, Switzerland and the Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the higher of a pair of twin peaks, the other being Pollux, named after the Gemini twins of Roman mythology. Castor's peak is at an elevation of 4,223 m (13,855 ft), and it lies between Breithorn and the Monte Rosa. It is separated from Pollux by a pass at 3,847 m (12,621 ft), named Passo di Verra in Italian and Zwillingsjoch in German.
The Gornergrat is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway in Europe. Between the Gornergrat railway station and the summit is the Kulm Hotel. In the late 1960s two astronomical observatories were installed in the two towers of the Kulmhotel Gornergrat. The project “Stellarium Gornergrat” is hosted in the Gornergrat South Observatory.
Monte Leone is the highest mountain of the Lepontine Alps and is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. The mountain stands on the extreme west of the Lepontine Alps, a few kilometres east of Simplon Pass.
The Hübschhorn is a mountain of the Lepontine Alps, overlooking the Simplon Pass in the canton of Valais. It belongs to the Monte Leone massif. Its altitude is 3190m/10'460 ft.
The Wasenhorn is a mountain of the Lepontine Alps, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It lies halfway between Brig and Varzo, just north of Monte Leone, in the Simplon Pass area. Politically the Wasenhorn is split between the municipalities of Ried-Brig and Varzo.
The Simplon Valley or Divedro Valley is a valley of the Alps, situated between the Pennine and the Lepontine ranges. The valley is drained by the Diveria or Chrummbach, a tributary of the Toce at Crevoladossola. The Simplon Valley is the only valley of Valais located south of the main chain of the Alps.
