The Alpine Divide is defined for much of its distance by the watershed between the drainage basin of the
Po in Italy on one side, with the other side of the divide being formed by the
Rhone, the
Rhine and the
Danube. Further east, the watershed is between the
Adige and the
Danube, before heading into Austria and draining on both sides into the Danube. For much of its distance the watershed lies on or close to the Italian border, although there are numerous deviations, notably, the Swiss canton of
Ticino which lies south of the range in the Po river basin. For only a small portion of its total distance does the Alpine divide form a part of the main
European watershed, in the central section where the watershed is between the Po and the Rhine. The Alps are generally divided into
Eastern Alps and
Western Alps, cut along a line between
Lake Como and
Lake Constance, following the
Rhine valley. • The Eastern Alps (main
ridge elongated and broad) belong to
Austria,
Germany,
Italy,
Slovenia, and
Switzerland. • The Western Alps are higher, but their central chain is shorter and much curved; they are located in
France, Italy, and Switzerland.
Piz Bernina (4,049 metres) is the highest peak of the Eastern Alps while the highest peak of the Western Alps is
Mont Blanc (4,810.45 metres).
Eastern Alps ) in the Hohe Tauern range From the
Maloja Pass (1,815 m) the main watershed dips to the south-east for a short distance, and then runs eastwards and nearly over the highest summit of the
Bernina Range,
Piz Bernina (4,049 m), to the
Bernina Pass. From here the main chain is less well defined, it rises to
Piz Paradisin (3,302 m), beyond which it runs slightly north-east, east of the Italian resort of
Livigno, past
Fraele Pass (1,952 m) and the source of the
Adda, traverses
Piz Murtarol (3,180 m) and
Monte Forcola, where is the tripoint between the Danube, Po and
Adige basins, then falls to the
Ofen Pass (2,149 m), soon heads north and rises once more in
Piz Sesvenna (3,204 m). The
Reschen Pass (1,504 m) marks a break in the continuity of the Alpine chain. The deep valley, the
Vinschgau of the upper Adige, is one of the most remarkable features in the orography of the Alps. The little
Reschen Lake, which forms the chief source of the Adige, is only 4 metres below the Pass, and 8 km from the
Inn valley. Eastward of this pass, the main chain runs north-east to the
Brenner Pass along the snowy crest of the
Ötztal, the highest point being the
Weißkugel (3,739 m), then crossing the
Timmelsjoch (2,474 m) and rising again in
Stubai Alps. Both the highest summits of the Ötztal and the Stubai, the
Wildspitze (3,774 m) and the
Zuckerhütl (3,505 m), stand a little to the north. The
Brenner (1,370 m) is the lowest of all the great road passes across the core part of the main chain and has always been the chief means of communication between Germany and Italy. For some way beyond it, the watershed runs eastwards over the highest crest of the
Zillertal Alps, which attains 3,510 metres in the
Hochfeiler. But, a little farther, at the
Dreiherrnspitze (3,499 m), the chain splits: the main watershed between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean heads south, along the
Rieserferner Group to the
Dolomites, and
Julian Alps. The main alpine divide head east, traversing the
High Tauern range, crossing the
Grossvenediger (3,666 m), passing just north of Austria's highest peak (the
Grossglockner), traversing
Ankogel (3,252 m), before curving northern across the
Lower Tauern, traversing its highest peak,
Hochgolling (2,863 m) in the
Schladming Tauern and then continuing on the same eastward path up to the
Schober Pass in
Styria. The
drainage divide further runs eastwards through the
Northern Limestone Alps, ending at "
Vienna Gate", the steep slopes of the
Leopoldsberg (425 m) high above the
Danube water gap and the
Vienna Basin.
Western Alps Starting from the
Bocchetta di Altare or di
Colle di Cadibona (west of
Savona), the main chain extends first south-west, then north-west to the
Col de Tenda, though nowhere rising much beyond the zone of coniferous trees. Beyond the
Col de Tenda the direction is first roughly west, then north-west to the
Rocca dei Tre Vescovi (2,840 m), just south of the
Enciastraia (2,955 m), several peaks of about 3,000 metres rising on the
watershed, though the highest of all, the
Punta dell'Argentera (3,297 m) stands a little way to its north. From the Rocher des Trois Évêques the drainage divide runs due north for a long distance, though of the two loftiest peaks of this region one, the
Aiguille de Chambeyron (3,412 m), is just to the west, and the other, the
Monviso (3,841 m), is just to the east of the divide. From the head of the
Val Pellice the main chain runs north-west and diminishes much in average height until it reaches the
Mont Thabor (3,178 m), which forms the apex of a salient angle which the main chain here presents towards the west. From here the divide extends eastwards, culminating in the
Aiguille de Scolette (3,505 m), but makes a great curve to the north-west and back to the south-east before rising in the
Rocciamelone (3,509 m). From there the direction taken is north as far as the eastern summit (3,619 m) of the
Levanna, the divide rising in a series of snowy peaks, though the loftiest point of the region, the
Pointe de Charbonnel (3,760 m), stands a little to the west. Once more the chain bends to the north-west, rising in several lofty peaks (the highest is the
Aiguille de la Grande Sassière, 3,751 m), before attaining the considerable depression of the
Little St Bernard Pass. with the tripoint between the Rhone, Rhine, and Po basins (center left) The divide then briefly turns north to the
Col de la Soigne, and then north-east along the crest of the Mont Blanc chain, which culminates in the peak of
Mont Blanc (4,810 m), the highest in the Alps. A number of high peaks line the divide, notably the
Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) before it reaches
Mont Dolent (3,823 m), where France, Italy and Switzerland meet. From there, after a short dip to the south-east, the chain takes, near the
Great St. Bernard Pass, a generally eastern direction that it maintains until it reaches
Monte Rosa, where it bends northwards, making one small dip to the east to the
Simplon Pass. It is in the portion of the watershed between the Grande St Bernard Pass and the Simplon that the main chain maintains a greater average height than in any other part. But, though it rises in a number of lofty peaks, such as the
Mont Vélan (3,727 m), the
Matterhorn (4,478 m), the
Lyskamm (4,533 m), the Nord End of
Monte Rosa (4,575 m), and the
Weissmies (4,023 m), many of the highest points of the region, such as the
Grand Combin (4,314 m), the
Dent Blanche (4,357 m), the
Weisshorn (4,505 m), the true summit or
Dufourspitze (4,634 m) of Monte Rosa itself, and the
Dom (4,545 m), all rise on its northern slope and not on the main chain. On the other hand, the chain between the Grande St Bernard and the Simplon sinks at barely half a dozen points below a level of 3,000 metres. The
Simplon Pass (1.994 m) corresponds to a change in the main chain: the peaks and passes are lower, but as far as the Splügenpass, all the highest summits rise on the divide. From there to the
St. Gotthard pass (2,106 m) the divide runs north-east, crossing
Monte Leone (3,533 m), and
Pizzo Rotondo (3,192 m). Near the
Witenwasserenstock is the point where the basin of the Po, the Rhine and the Rhone meet, and the European Watershed joins the Alpine divide. From the St. Gotthard to the
Maloja the watershed between the basins of the
Rhine and
Po runs in a generally easterly direction. It goes over
Passo del Lucomagno (1,915 m), across
Scopi (3,200 m),
Piz Medel (3,210 m) and
Piz Terri (3,149 m), where it turns towards the south to the
Rheinwaldhorn (3,402 m). Here the divide veers back east over the
Vogelberg (3,220 m) to the San Bernardino Pass (2,067 m), then over the
Pizzo Tambo (3,279 m), the
Splügenpass (2,114 m) and
Piz Timun (3,209 m). From here the divide heads south again to
Pizzo Stella (3,163 m) and then east over
Pizz Gallagiun (3,107 m), to where, near the
Lunghin pass, it reaches the main triple divide of the Alps: where water can flow to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean or the Black Sea. The main
European watershed leaves the Alpine divide here, heading north, while the divide continues east to the
Maloja Pass (1,815 m). == Glaciers ==