- Mont Blanc massif
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Mont Blanc massif Range Aiguille d'Argentière from SaleinaCountries France, Italy, Switzerland Part of Alps Highest point Mont Blanc (Italian: Monte Bianco) - elevation 4,810.45 m (15,782 ft) - coordinates 45°50′01″N 06°51′54″E / 45.83361°N 6.865°E The Mont Blanc massif (Occitan: Massís del Mont Blanc; Italian: Massiccio del Monte Bianco; French: Massif du Mont-Blanc) is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m[1] the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France (Haute-Savoie and Savoie), Italy (Aosta Valley), and Switzerland (western Valais). The Mont Blanc massif is sometimes considered to be part of either the Pennine Alps or the Graian Alps.
The Col Ferret separates it from the Pennine Alps; the Little St Bernard Pass separates it from the Graian Alps; the Arve valley separates it from the Aiguilles Rouges and the French Prealps.
The French side of the Mont Blanc massif is drained by the rivers Arve and Isère. The Italian side is drained by the river Dora Baltea. The Swiss side is drained by left tributaries of the river Rhône. The three borders converge near the summit of Mont Dolent.
Mont Blanc is crossed by a 11.6 km tunnel that connects Courmayeur (Italy) to Chamonix (France). The tunnel is infamous for an accident on March 24, 1999, when a truck ignited in the tunnel, and the resulting fire lasted 53 hours and killed 39.
Contents
Peaks
The main peaks of the Mont Blanc massif are:
Name Height (metres) Height (feet) Mont Blanc 4,810.45[1] 15,782 Mont Blanc de Courmayeur 4,748 15,577 Mont Maudit 4,465 14,648 Picco Luigi Amedeo 4,460 14,633 Dôme du Goûter 4,304 14,121 Mont Blanc du Tacul 4,248 13,937 Grand Pilier d'Angle 4,243 13,921 Grandes Jorasses 4,208 13,806 Aiguille Verte 4,122 13,523 Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey 4,112 13,491 Mont Brouillard 4,069 13,350 Aiguille de Bionnassay 4,066 13,341 Pic Eccles 4,041 13,258 Dôme de Rochefort 4,015 13,173 Dent du Géant 4,013 13,166 Aiguille de Rochefort 4,001 13,127 Les Droites 4,000 13,123 Aiguille de Tré-la-Tête 3,930 12,894 Aiguille d'Argentière 3,901 12,802 Aiguille de Triolet 3,870 12,697 Aiguille du Midi 3,843 12,609 Tour Noir 3,836 12,586 Aiguille des Glaciers 3,834 12,579 Mont Dolent 3,823 12,543 Aiguille du Chardonnet 3,822 12,540 Aiguille Noire de Peuterey 3,773 12,379 Aiguille du Dru 3,754 12,316 Dômes de Miage 3,688 12,100 Aiguille du Plan 3,673 12,051 Aiguille du Tour 3,540 11,615 Name Height (metres) Height (feet) Aiguilles Dorées 3,519 11,545 Grand Darray 3,514 11,529 Grande Lui 3,509 11,512 Aiguille du Grépon 3,502 11,489 Aiguille des Grands Charmoz 3,445 11,302 Le Portalet 3,344 10,971 Pointe d'Orny 3,274 10,742 Mont Favre 3,259 10,693 Tita Neire 3,175 10,417 Grande Pointe des Planereuses 3,151 10,338 Pointe de Léchaud 3,127 10,260 Mont Buet 3,109 10,201 Pointe des Plines 3,057 10,030 Pic de Tenneverge 2,982 9,784 Aiguille du Belvédère (Aiguilles Rouges) 2,966 9,731 Le Génépi 2,884 9,462 Crammont 2,737 8,980 Pointe des Fours 2,719 8,921 Pointe du Colloney 2,692 8,832 Pointe Ronde 2,655 8,711 Catogne 2,599 8,527 Mont Joly 2,527 8,291 Brevent 2,525 8,284 Pointe de Sales 2,494 8,183 Aiguille de Varan 2,488 8,163 Mont Chetif 2,343 7,687 La Breya 2,194 7,198 Glaciers
Largest glaciers :
Passes
The main passes of the Mont Blanc massif are shown in the table below.
name location type elevation (m/ft) Col de la Brenva Courmayeur to Chamonix snow 4,333 14,217 Col de Triolet Chamonix to Courmayeur snow 3,691 12,110 Col d'Argentière Chamonix to Orsières snow 3,516 11,536 Col de Talefre Chamonix to Courmayeur snow 3,484 11,430 Col de Miage Les Contamines to Courmayeur snow 3,376 11,077 Col du Géant Chamonix to Courmayeur snow 3,371 11,060 Col du Chardonnet Chamonix to Orsières snow 3,325 10,909 Col du Tour Chamonix to Orsières snow 3,280 10,762 Fenetre de Saleinaz Saleinaz Glacier to Trient Glacier snow 3,264 10,709 Col de Breuil Bourg-Saint-Maurice to La Thuile snow 2,879 9,446 Col du Mont Tondu Les Contamines to Courmayeur snow 2,590 8,498 Col Ferret Courmayeur to Orsières bridle path 2,533 8,311 Col de la Seigne Les Chapieux to Courmayeur bridle path 2,512 8,242 Col de Susanfe Champéry to Salvan foot path 2,500 8,202 Col du Bonhomme Contamines to Les Chapieux bridle path 2,483 8,147 Col de Sageroux Sixt to Champéry foot path 2,413 7,917 Col d'Anterne Sixt to Servoz bridle path 2,263 7,425 Col de Balme Chamonix to the Trient Valley bridle path 2,201 7,221 Little St Bernard Pass Aosta to Moûtiers road 2188 7179 Colle Checrouit Courmayeur to the Lac de Combal bridle path 1,960 6,431 Col de Voza Chamonix to Les Contamines bridle path 1,675 5,496 Col de la Forclaz (F) Chamonix to Saint-Gervais bridle path 1,556 5,105 Col de la Forclaz (CH) Argentière to Martigny road 1,520 4,987 See also
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Categories:- Mountain ranges of the Alps
- Mountain ranges of Switzerland
- Mountain ranges of France
- Mountain ranges of Italy
- Geography of Aosta Valley
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