Geography of Piedmont

The Geography of Piedmont is that of a territory predominantly mountainous, 43.3%, but with extensive areas of hills which represent 30.3% of the territory, and of plains (26.4%).

To the north and to the west Piedmont is surrounded by the Alps, to the south by the Apennines, and to the east by the Po plain.

To the west Piedmont borders with France, to the north with Valle d'Aosta and Switzerland, to the east with Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, and to the south with Liguria.

Piedmont is the second largest of the 20 administative regions of Italy, after Sicily. It is broadly contiguous with the upper part of the drainage basin of the river Po which rises from the slopes of Monviso in the west of the region and is Italy’s largest river. The Po collects all the waters provided within the semi-circle of mountains (Alps and Apennines) which surround the region on three sides.

From the highest peaks the land slopes down to hilly areas, (not always, though, sometimes there is a brusque transition from the mountains to the plains) and then to the upper, and then the lower Pianura Padana. The boundary between the first and the second is characterised by "risorgive", springs typical of the pianura padana which supply fresh water both to the rivers and to a dense network of irrigation canals.

Lago Maggiore and the line of the rivers Ticino and Sesia separate Piemont from Lombardy.

The countryside, then, is very varied: one passes from the rugged peaks of the massifs of Monte Rosa and of Gran Paradiso (national park), to the damp rice paddies of the Vercellese and Novarese; from the gentle hillsides of the Langhe and of Monferrato to the plains, often polluted and studded with a mixture of farms and industrial concerns.

Orography

Mountains

Principal mountains:

*Monte Rosa 4634 m
*Gran Paradiso 4061 m
*Monviso 3841 m
*Uia di Ciamarella 3676 m
*Leone 3552 m
*Rocciamelone 3538 m
*Corno Bianco 3320 m
*Ramiere 3303 m
*Bric Bouchet 3216 m
*Matto 3097 m
*Albergian 3043 m
*Rocca la Meia 2831 m
*Monte Giavino 2766 m
*Punta Marguareis 2651 m
*Bram 2357 m
*Monte Barone 2044 m
*Antola 1597 m

Valleys

As Piedmont is bounded to the north and to the west by the Alps, and to the south by the Apennines it is rich in valleys of very varied dimensions. There follows a list of some of the valleys of the region starting at the north of the boundary with Lombardy and proceeding anti-clockwise:
*Val d'Ossola
**Valle Anzasca
**Valle Antrona
**Val Bognanco
**Val Divedro
**Valle Antigorio
**Val Formazza
**Val Vigezzo
*Valsesia
**Val Mastallone
**Val d'Otro
**Val Vogna
*Val Sessera
*Valle Cervo
*Valchiusella
*Valle dell'Orco
*Valli di Lanzo
**Val grande di Lanzo
**Val d'Ala
**Valle di Viù
*Val di Susa
*Val Sangone
*Val Chisone
*Val Pellice
*Valle Po
*Valle Maira
*Val Varaita
*Valle Stura di Demonte
*Valle Gesso
*Val Bormida
*Val Curone
*Valle Scrivia
*Val Borbera

Hydrography

Rivers

The largest river in Piedmont is the Po.Other important rivers, in order of their mean rate of discharge, include:

Lakes

The principal lakes of Piedmont are:
*Lago Maggiore 212 km²
*Lago d'Orta 18.2 km²
*Lago di Viverone 5.8 km²
*Lago di Mergozzo 1.85 km²
*Lago di Candia 1.52 km²
*The five lakes of the Serra di Ivrea [http://www.torinopiemontevideobank.it/en/video.php?categoriaID=7&ID=39]
**Lago Sirio 1.4 km²
**Lago San Michele
**Lago Nero
**Lago Pistono
**Lago di Campagna (or Lago di Cascinette)

References