This article lists the principal mountain passes and tunnels in the Alps, and gives a history of transport across the Alps.
The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of 120 kilometres (75 mi) in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is one of the longest ranges in Europe. It is traversed by important trade routes and has a great tourist significance. Geographically and geologically, it is divided into the higher Western Karawanks and the lower-lying Eastern Karawanks. It is traversed by the Periadriatic Seam, separating the Apulian tectonic plate from the Eurasian Plate.
The Southern Limestone Alps, also called the Southern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent lands of Austria and Slovenia. The distinction from the Central Alps, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition. The Southern Limestone Alps extend from the Sobretta-Gavia range in Lombardy in the west to the Pohorje in Slovenia in the east.
The High Tauern are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyrol, with a small part in the southwest belongs to the Italian province of South Tyrol. The range includes Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner at 3,798 metres (12,461 ft) above the Adriatic.
Gail is the name of a river in southern Austria, the largest right tributary of the Drava. Its drainage basin is 1,413.9 km2 (545.9 sq mi).
The Noric Alps is a collective term denoting various mountain ranges of the Eastern Alps. The name derives from the ancient Noricum province of the Roman Empire on the territory of present-day Austria and the adjacent Bavarian and Slovenian area.
The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and Hungary.
The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide, and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the south. The peaks and mountain passes are lower than the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.
Plöcken Pass is a high mountain pass in the Carnic Alps mountain range at the border between the Austrian state of Carinthia and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. It links the market town of Kötschach-Mauthen in the Carinthian Gail Valley with the Paluzza municipality in the Carnia region of Friuli.
Hermagor-Pressegger See is a town in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of the Hermagor District. The town is named after Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia, the first bishop of Aquileia.
Monte Coglians is the highest mountain of the Carnic Alps, on the border between Italy and Austria (Carinthia), west of the Monte Croce Carnico pass. With its elevation of 2,780 m (9,121 ft), it is the highest peak of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy and of the Carnic and Gailtal Alps.
Dellach is a municipality in the district of Hermagor, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Kötschach-Mauthen is a market town in the district of Hermagor in Carinthia in Austria.
Lesachtal is a municipality in Hermagor District, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It comprises the western part of the eponymous valley formed by the upper Gail River, and stretches from the Carinthian border with East Tyrol down to Kötschach-Mauthen in the east.
Oberdrauburg is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau at the western rim of the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Carnia is a historical-geographic region in the northeastern Italian area of Friuli. Its 27 municipalities all belong to the province of Udine, which itself is part of the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.
The Carnic and Gailtal Alps is a geographic grouping of mountain ranges belonging to the Southern Limestone Alps. They are located in Austria and Italy.
The Gailtaler Polinik is a mountain, 2,332 m above sea level (AA), in the Carnic Alps in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It lies on the main ridge of the Carnics and is the highest peak of the Eastern group.
The Gailtal Alps, is a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria. It rises between the River Drava (Drau) and the Gail valley and through the southern part of East Tyrol. Its western group called "Lienz Dolomites", is sometimes counted as part of this range and sometimes seen as separate.
The twin peaks of the Kellerspitzen form the second highest mountain in the Carnic Alps, a mountain range in the Southern Limestone Alps within both Austria and Italy. The two summits rise in the middle of the east-west oriented Kellerwandgrat, an arête that forms the main chain of the Carnic Alps here. The border between the Austrian state of Carinthia and the Italian Province of Udine runs along this ridge. The West Top (Westgipfel), also called the Grohmannspitze, is 2,718 m; the East or Main Top is 2,774 m. The mountain offers a wide panoramic view in all directions which, along with its numerous climbing routes, makes it a popular destination for mountaineers.
