Principal passes of the Alps

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This article lists the principal mountain passes and tunnels in the Alps, and gives a history of transport across the Alps.

Contents

Main passes

The following are the main paved road passes across the Alps. Main indicates on the main chain of the Alps, from south west to east. Passes on subsidiary ranges are listed where the ridge leaves the main chain – N/W indicates north or west of the main chain, S/E on the south or east side. Heights in brackets indicate true pass height, not the high point of the road.

areanamelocationcountrieselevation (m)
Colle di Cadibona Savona to Ceva Italy436
Colle del Melogno Finale Ligure to Ceva Italy1028
Giogo di Toirano Toirano to Bardineto Italy801
Colle Scravaion Albenga to Calizzano Italy814
Colle San Bernardo Albenga to Garessio Italy957
Passo di Prale Cisano sul Neva to Ormea Italy1258
Colle di Nava Imperia to Ormea Italy934
Colle San Bernardo di Mendatica Triora and Mendatica to Ormea (through Colle di Nava)Italy1262
Main Col de Tende Tende to Cuneo France, Italy1870
Main Col de la Lombarde Isola to Vinadio France, Italy2350
N/W Col de la Bonette Jausiers to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée France2715
Main Maddalena Pass/Col de Larche Barcelonnette to Cuneo France, Italy1996
Main Col Agnel Queyras to Sampeyre France, Italy2744
Main Col de Montgenèvre Briançon to Susa France, Italy1854
Main Col de l'Échelle Briançon to Bardonecchia France, Italy1762
N/W Col du Galibier Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne to Col du Lautaret France2642
N/W Col du Lautaret Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Briançon France2058
Main Col du Mont Cenis Modane to Susa France2084
N/W Col de l'Iseran Val d'Isère to Bonneval-sur-Arc France2764
S/E Col du Nivolet Noasca to Courmayeur (no through road)Italy2641
Main Little St Bernard Pass Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Pré-Saint-Didier France, Italy2188
N/W Col des Montets Martigny to Chamonix France1461
Main Great St Bernard Pass Martigny to Aosta Switzerland, Italy2469
Main Simplon Pass Brig to Domodossola Switzerland2009 (1996)
Main Nufenen Pass Ulrichen to Airolo Switzerland2478
N/W Furka Pass Realp to Oberwald Switzerland2429
N/W Grimsel Pass Innertkirchen to Gletsch Switzerland2164
N/W Susten Pass Innertkirchen to Wassen Switzerland2224
Main St Gotthard Pass Andermatt to Airolo Switzerland2106
N/W Oberalp Pass Andermatt to Disentis Switzerland2044
N/W Klausen Pass Altdorf to Linthal Switzerland1948
Main Lukmanier Pass Disentis to Biasca Switzerland1915
Main San Bernardino Pass Splügen to Bellinzona Switzerland2065
Main Splügen Pass Splügen to Chiavenna Switzerland, Italy2115
N/W Julier Pass Tiefencastel to Silvaplana Switzerland2284
N/W Albula Pass Filisur to La Punt Switzerland2311
N/W Flüela Pass Davos to Susch Switzerland2383
N/W Bielerhöhe Sankt Gallenkirch to Galtür Austria2036
N/W Arlberg Pass Bludenz to Landeck Austria1793
N/W Flexen Pass Warth to Klostertal Austria1773
N/W Hochtannbergpass Dornbirn to Warth Austria1679
Main Maloja Pass Silvaplana to Chiavenna Switzerland1815
Main Bernina Pass Pontresina to Tirano Switzerland2328
Main Livigno Pass Poschiavo to Livigno Switzerland, Italy2315
Main Foscagno Pass Bormio to Livigno Italy2291
S/E Umbrail Pass Val Müstair to Bormio Switzerland, Italy2501
S/E Giogo dello Stelvio Bormio to Vinschgau Italy2757
S/E Gavia Pass Bormio to Ponte di Legno Italy2621
S/E Tonale Pass Ponte di Legno to Val di Sole Italy1883
S/E Campo Carlo Magno Madonna di Campiglio to Val di Sole Italy1655
S/E Passo d'Aprica Valtellina to Val Camonica Italy1172
Main Fuorn Pass Zernez to Val Müstair Switzerland2149
Main Reschen Pass Nauders to Meran Austria, Italy1507
Main Timmelsjoch Ötztal valley to Meran Austria, Italy2491
Main Brenner Pass Innsbruck to Sterzing Austria, Italy1370
Main Hochtor Zell am See to Lienz Austria2505 (2576)
Main Radstädter Tauern Pass Radstadt to Mauterndorf Austria1739
Main Sölk Pass Schöder to Gröbming Austria1788
Main Triebener Tauern Pass Judenburg to Trieben Austria1274
Main Schober Pass Liezen to Leoben Austria849
Präbichl Eisenerz to Leoben Austria1204
Aflenzer Seeberg Mariazell to Bruck an der Mur Austria1254
Niederalpl Pass Mürzsteg to Gußwerk Austria1221
Lahnsattel Mürzsteg to Mariazell Austria1006
Ochsattel Schwarzau im Gebirge to Hohenberg Austria820
Kalte Kuchl Schwarzau im Gebirge to Rohrbach an der Gölsen Austria728
Gerichtsberg Pass Altenmarkt an der Triesting to Hainfeld Austria581

Other passes

Detailed lists of passes are given by Alpine subdivision, see the following articles:

Road tunnels

Main chain, from west to east:

namelocationcountrieslength (km)
Col de Tende Road Tunnel Tende to Cuneo France, Italy3.2
Fréjus Road Tunnel Modane to Susa France, Italy12.9
Mont Blanc Tunnel Chamonix to Courmayeur France, Italy11.6
Great St Bernard Tunnel Martigny to Aosta Switzerland, Italy5.9
St. Gotthard Tunnel Göschenen to Airolo Switzerland17
San Bernardino Tunnel Splügen to Bellinzona Switzerland7.7
Felbertauern Tunnel Mittersill to Lienz Austria5.3
Tauern Road Tunnel Eben im Pongau to Sankt Michael im Lungau Austria6.4

Notable other tunnels:

namelocationcountrieslength (km)
Arlberg Tunnel Langen am Arlberg to St Anton am Arlberg Austria13.976
Karawanks Tunnel Villach to Jesenice Austria, Slovenia7.864

Railway passes and tunnels

Main chain, from west to east:

nametypelocationcountrieslength (km)elevation (m)
Colle di Cadibona pass Savona to Ceva Italy436
Tunnel de Tende tunnel Tende to Cuneo France, Italy8.1
Fréjus Rail Tunnel tunnel Modane to Susa France, Italy13.71123
Simplon Tunnel tunnel Brig to Domodossola Switzerland, Italy19.8705
Gotthard Rail Tunnel tunnel Göschenen to Airolo Switzerland151151
Gotthard Base Tunnel tunnel Erstfeld to Biasca Switzerland57.1549
Bernina Pass pass Pontresina to Tirano Switzerland2323
Brenner Pass pass Innsbruck to Sterzing Austria, Italy1370
Tauern Tunnel tunnel Bad Gastein to Obervellach Austria8.6
Schober Pass pass Liezen to Leoben Austria849
Präbichl pass Eisenerz to Leoben Austria1204

Notable other railway passes and tunnels:

nametypelocationcountrieslength (km)elevation (m)
Arlberg Railway Tunnel tunnel Langen am Arlberg to St Anton am Arlberg Austria10.61303
Karawanks Tunnel tunnel Villach to Jesenice Austria, Slovenia8.0
Lötschberg Tunnel tunnel Spiez to Brig Switzerland14.61240
Lötschberg Base Tunnel tunnel Spiez to Brig Switzerland34.6828
Oberalp Pass pass Andermatt to Disentis Switzerland2044
Semmering tunnel Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag Austria1.5965

History

Places where the Alps were crossed are called passes, and are points at which the alpine chain sinks to form depressions, up to which deep-cut valleys lead from the plains & hilly pre-mountainous zones. The oldest names for such passes are Mont (still retained in cases of Mont Cenis and Monte Moro), for it was many ages before this term was applied to mountains themselves, which with a few very rare exceptions (e.g. Monte Viso was known to the Romans as Vesulus) were for a long time disregarded. [1]

Native inhabitants of the Alps were naturally the first to use the passes. The passes first became known to the outside world when the Romans crossed them to raid or conquer the region beyond. Romans, once having found an "easy" way across the chain, did not trouble to seek for harder and more devious routes. Hence, passes that can be shown as certainly known to them are relatively few in number: they are, in topographical order from west to east, the Col de l'Argentière, the Col de Montgenèvre, the Col du Mont Cenis, the two St Bernard passes (Little St Bernard Pass and Great St Bernard Pass), the Splügen Pass, the Septimer Pass, the Reschen Pass, the Brenner Pass, the Plöcken Pass, the Pontebba Pass (or Saifnitz Pass), the Radstädter Tauern Pass and the Solkscharte Pass or Sölk Pass. [1]

Of these the Montgenèvre and the Brenner were the most frequented. In the Central Alps only two passes (the Splügen and the Septimer) were certainly known to the Romans. In fact the central portion of the Alps was by far the least Romanised region until the early Middle Ages. Thus the Simplon is first definitely mentioned in 1235, the St Gotthard in 1236, the Lukmanier in 965, the San Bernardino in 941; of course they may have been known before, but authentic history is silent as regards them till the dates specified. Even the Mont Cenis (from the 15th to the 19th century the favourite pass for travellers going from France to Italy) is first heard of only in 756. [2]

In the 13th century many hitherto unknown passes came into prominence, even some of the easy glacier passes. In the Western and Central Alps there is only one ridge to cross, to which access is gained by a deep-cut valley, though often it would be shorter to cross a second pass in order to reach the plains, e.g. the Montgenèvre, that is most directly reached by the Col du Lautaret; and the Simplon, which is best reached by one of the lower passes over the western portion of the Bernese Oberland chain. On the other hand, in the Eastern Alps, it is generally necessary to cross three distinct ridges between the northern and southern plains, the Central ridge being the highest and most difficult to cross. Thus the passes which crossed a single ridge, and did not involve too great a detour through a long valley of approach, became the most important and the most popular, e.g. the Mont Cenis, the Great St Bernard, the St Gotthard, the Septimer and the Brenner. [3]

As time went on the Alpine passes were improved to make travel easier. A few passes (e.g. the Semmering, the Brenner, the Col de Tende and the Arlberg) had carriage roads constructed before 1800, while those over the Umbrail and the Great St Bernard were not completed till the early years of the 20th century. Most of the carriage roads across the great alpine passes were thus constructed in the first half of the 19th century, largely due to the Napoleon's need for such roads as modes of military transport. As late as 1905, the highest pass over the main chain that had a carriage road was the Great St Bernard (2,472 m (8,111 ft)), but three still higher passes over side ridges have roads—the col de l'Iseran, the Stelvio Pass (2,760 m (9,040 ft)), the Col du Galibier (2,658 m (8,721 ft)), in the Dauphiné Alps, and the Umbrail Pass (2,512 m (8,242 ft)). [3]

Railway lines, like the Brenner and the Pontebba lines, were added to speed travel through the passes and tunnels supplemented passes at the Col de Tenda, the Mont Cenis, the Simplon and the St Gotthard. [3]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Knox 1911, p. 740.
  2. Knox 1911, pp. 740–741.
  3. 1 2 3 Knox 1911, p. 741.

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References

Further reading

47°36′12″N11°38′08″E / 47.60333°N 11.63556°E / 47.60333; 11.63556