South Tyrol is located at the northernmost point in Italy. The province is bordered by Austria to the east and north, specifically by the Austrian states
Tyrol and
Salzburg, and by the
Swiss canton of
Graubünden to the west. The Italian provinces of
Belluno,
Trentino, and
Sondrio border to the southeast, south, and southwest, respectively. The landscape itself is mostly cultivated with different types of
shrubs and
forests and is highly mountainous. Entirely located in the
Alps, the province's landscape is dominated by mountains. The highest peak is the
Ortler () in the far west, which is also the highest peak in the
Eastern Alps outside the
Bernina Range. Even more famous are the craggy peaks of the
Dolomites in the eastern part of the region. The following mountain groups are (partially) in South Tyrol. All but the Sarntal Alps are on the border with Austria, Switzerland, or other Italian provinces. The ranges are clockwise from the west and for each the highest peak is given that is within the province or on its border. Located between the mountains are many
valleys, where the majority of the population lives.
Administrative divisions The province is divided into eight districts (German:
Bezirksgemeinschaften, Italian: ), one of them being the chief city of Bolzano. Each district is headed by a president and two bodies called the district committee and the district council. The districts are responsible for resolving intermunicipal disputes and providing roads, schools, and social services such as retirement homes. The province is further divided into 116
Gemeinden or
comuni.
Districts Largest municipalities Climate Climatically, South Tyrol may be divided into five distinct groups: The
Adige valley area, with cold winters (24-hour averages in January of about ) and warm summers (24-hour averages in July of about ), usually
classified as
humid subtropical climate — Cfa. It has the driest and sunniest climate of the province. The main city in this area is
Bolzano. The midlands, between , with cold winters (24-hour averages in January between ) and mild summers (24-hour averages in July between ). This is a typical
oceanic climate, classified as Cfb. It is usually wetter than the subtropical climate, and very snowy during the winters. During the spring and autumn, there is an extended foggy season, but fog may occur even on summer mornings. Main towns in this area are
Meran,
Bruneck,
Sterzing, and
Brixen. Near the lakes in higher lands (between ) the humidity may make the climate in these regions milder during winter, but also cooler in summer, making it more similar to a
subpolar oceanic climate, Cfc. The alpine valleys between , with a typically
humid continental climate — Dfb, covering the largest part of the province. The winters are usually very cold (24-hour averages in January between ), and the summers, mild with averages between . It is a very snowy climate; snow may occur from early October to April or even May. Main municipalities in this area are
Urtijëi,
Badia,
Sexten,
Toblach,
Stilfs,
Vöran, and
Mühlwald. The alpine valleys between , with a
subarctic climate — Dfc, with harsh winters (24-hour averages in January between ) and cool, short, rainy and foggy summers (24-hour averages in July of about ). These areas usually have five months below the freezing point, and snow sometimes occurs even during the summer, in September. This climate is the wettest of the province, with large rainfalls during the summer, heavy snowfalls during spring and fall. The winter is usually a little drier, marked by freezing and dry weeks, although not sufficiently dry to be classified as a Dwc climate. Main municipalities in this area are
Corvara,
Sëlva,
Santa Cristina Gherdëina. The highlands above , with an
alpine tundra climate, ET, which becomes an
ice cap climate, EF, above . The winters are cold, but sometimes not as cold as the higher valleys' winters. In January, most of the areas at have an average temperature of about , while in the valleys at about , the mean temperature may be as low as . The higher lands, above are usually extremely cold, with averages of about during the coldest month, January.
Geology The periadriatic seam, which separates the
Southern Alps from the
Central Alps, runs through South Tyrol in a southwest–northeast direction. In South Tyrol at least three of the four main structural elements of the Alps come to light: the Southern Alpine comes to light south of the periadriatic suture, the Eastern Alpine north of it, and in the northern part of the country, east of the Brenner Pass, the Tauern window, in which the Peninsular and, according to some authors, the Helvetic are visible. In South Tyrol, the following structure can be roughly recognized: The lowest floor forms the crystalline basement. About 280 million years ago, in the Lower Permian, multiple magmatic events occurred. At that time the Brixen
granite was formed at the northern boundary of the Southern Alps, and at about the same time, further south in the Bolzano area, there was strong
volcanic activity that formed the Adige Valley volcanic complex. In the Upper Permian a period began in which sedimentary rocks were formed. At first, these were partly clastic sediments, among which the Gröden sandstone is found. In the
Triassic, massive carbonate platforms of dolomitic rocks then formed; this process was interrupted in the Middle Triassic by a brief but violent phase of volcanic activity. In South Tyrol, the
Eastern Alps consist mainly of metamorphic rocks, such as gneisses or mica schists, with occasional intercalations of marble and
Mesozoic sedimentary rocks with metamorphic overprint (e.g., in the Ortler or southwest of the Brenner). Various metamorphic rocks are found in the Tauern Window, such as Hochstegen marble (as in Wolfendorn), Grünschiefer (as in Hochfeiler), or rocks of the Zentralgneiss (predominantly in the area of the Zillertal Main Ridge). The province of South Tyrol has placed numerous geological natural monuments under protection. Among the best known are the Bletterbach Gorge, a 12 km (7½ mile) long canyon in the municipality of Aldein, and the
Ritten Earth Pyramids, which are the largest in Europe with a height of up to .
Mountains -
Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the
Sexten Dolomites bordering the province of Belluno|300x300px According to the Alpine Association, South Tyrol is home to 13 mountain groups of the Eastern Alps, of which only the Sarntal Alps are entirely within national borders. The remaining twelve are (clockwise, starting from the west): Sesvenna Group, Ötztal Alps, Stubai Alps, Zillertal Alps, Venediger Group, Rieserferner Group, Villgratner Mountains, Carnic Alps, Dolomites, Fleimstal Alps, Nonsberg Group and Ortler Alps. Of particular note are the Dolomites, parts of which were recognized by
UNESCO in 2009 as a "Dolomite World Heritage Site". Although some isolated massifs approach and show strong
glaciation (especially in the Ortler Alps and on the main ridge of the Alps), South Tyrol is by far dominated by mountains with altitudes of between . Among the multitude of peaks, the
Dolomites are the highest in the Alps. Among the large number of peaks, three stand out for their alpine or cultural importance: the
Ortler () as the highest mountain in South Tyrol, the
Schlern () as the country's "landmark" and the
Drei Zinnen () as the center of alpine climbing. Other well-known mountains are the
Königspitze (), the
Weißkugel (), the
Similaun (), the
Hochwilde (), the Sarner Weißhorn (), the Hochfeiler (), the Dreiherrnspitze (), the Hochgall (), the Peitlerkofel (), the Langkofel () and the Rosengartenspitze (). The extensive mountain
landscapes, about 34% of the total area of South Tyrol, are alpine pastures (including the of the great Alpe di Siusi). Along the main valleys, the mountain ranges descend in many places to valley bottoms over gently terraced landscapes, which are geological remains of former
valley systems; situated between inhospitable high mountains and formerly boggy or deeply incised valley bottoms, these areas known as the "Mittelgebirge" (including, for example, the Schlern area) are of particular importance in terms of settlement
history.
Valleys The three main valleys of South Tyrol are the
Adige Valley, the
Eisack Valley and the
Puster Valley, formed by the Ice Age Adige glacier and its tributaries. The highest part of the Adige valley in western South Tyrol, from Reschen () to Töll (approx. ) near Merano, is called Vinschgau; the southernmost section, from Bolzano to Salurner Klause (), is divided into Überetsch and Unterland. From there, the Adige Valley continues in a southerly direction until it merges with the Po plain at
Verona. At Bolzano, the Eisack Valley merges into the Adige Valley. The Eisack Valley runs from Bolzano northeastward to Franzensfeste, where it merges with the Wipp Valley, which runs first northwestward and then northward over the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck. In the town of Brixen, the Eisack Valley meets the Puster Valley, which passes through Bruneck and reaches Lienz via the Toblacher Sattel (). In addition to the three main valleys, South Tyrol has a large number of side valleys. The most important and populated side valleys are (from west to east) Sulden, Schnals, Ulten, Passeier, Ridnaun, the Sarntal, Pfitsch, Gröden, the Gadertal, the Tauferer Ahrntal and Antholz. In mountainous South Tyrol, about 64.5% of the total
land area is above above sea level and only 14% below . Therefore, a large part of the
population is concentrated in relatively small areas in the valleys at an altitude of between , mainly in the area of the extensive alluvial cones and broad basins. The most densely populated areas are in the Adige valley, where three of the four largest cities, Bolzano, Merano and Laives, are located. The flat valley bottoms are mainly used for agriculture.
Hydrography The most important river in South Tyrol is the
Adige, which rises at the Reschen Pass, flows for a distance of about to the border at the Salurner Klause, and then flows into the Po Valley and the Adriatic Sea. The Adige, whose total length of in Italy is exceeded only by the
Po, drains 97% of the territory's surface area. Its river system also includes the Eisack, about long, and the Rienz, about long, the next two largest rivers in South Tyrol. They are fed by numerous rivers and streams in the tributary valleys. The most important tributaries are the Plima, the Passer, the Falschauer, the Talfer, the Ahr and the Gader. The remaining 3% of the area is drained by the
Drava and
Inn river systems to the
Black Sea and by the
Piave river system to the
Adriatic Sea, respectively. In South Tyrol there are 176 natural
lakes with an area of more than half a
hectare (1¼ acre), most of which are located above
altitude. Only 13 natural lakes are larger than 5 ha, and only three of them are situated below altitude: the Kalterer See (), the Großer () and the Kleiner
Montiggler See (). Fourteen South Tyrolean reservoirs used for energy production include the Reschensee (), which with an area of forms the largest standing body of water in South Tyrol, the Zufrittsee () and the Arzkarsee (). The
natural monuments designated by the province of South Tyrol include numerous hydrological objects, such as streams, waterfalls, moors, glaciers and mountain lakes like the Pragser Wildsee (), the Karersee () or the Spronser Seen (). another 40% is above and thus largely beyond the forest demarcation line, which varies between . In each case, more than half of the total forest area is located on land with a slope steeper than 20° and at
altitudes between . Approximately 24% of the forest area can be classified as
protective forest preserving settlements, traffic routes and other human
infrastructure. A 1997 study classified about 35% of South Tyrol's forests as near-natural or natural, about 41% as moderately modified and about 24% as heavily modified or artificial. The forests are found in the valley bottoms. The flat valley bottoms were originally completely covered with
riparian forests, of which only very small remnants remain along the
rivers. The remaining areas have given way to settlements and
agricultural land. On the valley slopes, sub-Mediterranean mixed deciduous forests are found up to altitude, characterized mainly by manna ash, hop hornbeam, hackberry, sweet chestnut and downy
oak. From about of altitude, red beech or pine forests can appear instead, colonizing difficult and arid sites (more rarely). At altitudes between , spruce forests are found; between , montane and subalpine spruce forests predominate. The latter are often mixed with tree species such as larch, rowan, white pine and
stone pine. The larch and stone pine forests at the upper edge of the forest belt occupy relatively small areas. Beyond the forest edge, subalpine dwarf shrub communities, alpine
grasslands and, lately, alpine
tundra dominate the landscape as vegetation types. == Politics ==