The Apennines

Geography

The the Apennines (or the Apennin and in Italian Appennino ) are a chain of Montagne S which traverse on 1  000 km the Italy of north in the south through the 15 Italian areas.

The chain between two seas forms, roughly speaking, an arc between the gulf of Genoa, on the the Mediterranean and Naples on the Tyrrhenian Sea, the center of the arc approaching the east coast, on the level of Rimini (Adriatic Sea). The Apennines are divided into three major groups:

  1. the Apennines of the north , through which the chain is attached to the Western Alps (collar with 475 meters of altitude). This part of the chain contains only one solid mass higher than 2.000 meters of altitude: Apennin Tosco-Emiliano, which culminates with 2.165 meters of altitude. The mountains, rather round, form there a very frayed chain, which declines quickly towards the hills around, and the collars, very often borrowed by roads, range between 700 and 1.000 meters of altitude. However, this part of the Apennines still preserves large wild forests, especially between the Toscane and the Emilie-Romagna. The Alps Apuanes, in spite of their very modest altitude (1 000 meters), contain peaks and throats completely wooded, which confers to them an aspect similar to the bread-of-sugar of the East. Moreover, these tops decline brutally towards the Tyrrhenian Sea, with many impressive cliffs.
  2. the Apennines of the center , contrary to those of north, decline slightly towards the two seas. They however form a very broad solid mass composed of several mountainous groups spaced between them by narrow valleys parallel with the two seas. This part of the Apennines, which the the Abruzzi include mainly, extends from Monti Sibillini in north in Monti del Matese in the south. There are 9 mountainous groups exceeding the 2.000 meters of altitude: the Gran Sasso, Majella, Velino sirente, Monti Sibillini, Monti della Laga, Monti Marsicani, Monti Reatini, Monti Simbruini and Monti del Matese. These solid masses are highest of the Apennines, with often pointed mountains, and are spaced by collars which never locate in lower part of 1.000 meters altitude. Moreover, the large forests shelter there a fauna and a rare or extremely rare exceptional flora in the remainder of the Apennines. It is there that is the alpine landscape par excellence.
  3. the Apennines of the south resemble the Apennines of North much: mountains and collars at low altitude, chains frayed, tops more or less rounded, but declining almost vertically on the Tyrrhenian Sea and the sea Ionienne. Its deep and inaccessible throats, like its tops generally little coveted, shelter large wild forests populated by the wolves. However, it is the only part of the Apennines which includes/understands active volcanos (Etna, Vesuvius, Champs Phlégréens). Etna is divided remainder of the Apennines by the strait of Messine (being located in lower part of the sea level, it is the collar low of the Apennines). It is a mountain (a volcano) with share, because of its geological composition, its form, its altitude and besides its insulation of the remainder of the chain.
The Apennines however present mountainous bastions of low altitude which are not geographically with same the chain. These mountainous formations isolated among the hills belong to the group of the Anti-Apennines (the equivalent of Préalpes in the Alps). One can quote the metalliferous mounts in particular, assembles it Conero, the mounts Albains, the mounts Lepini, Circeo, Gargano, Vesuvius. The culminating point is Etna (3 345 meters), in Sicily. But the true more high mountain is Corno large, in the solid mass of Gran Sasso, with its 2.912 mèters of altitude in the the Abruzzi.

There exist 223 major tops (independent) exceeding the 2.000 meters of altitude. Among those:

  1. 158 tops >2 100 meters
  2. 97 tops >2 200 meters
  3. 58 tops >2 300 meters
  4. 41 tops >2 400 meters
  5. 24 tops >2 500 meters
  6. 18 tops >2 600 meters
  7. 9 tops >2 700 meters
  8. 7 tops >2 800 meters
  9. 4 tops >2 900 meters
  10. 1 top >3 000 meters

The highest solid masses are:

  1. the Gran Sasso (2  912 meters in Corno Large) - Protected by the National park from Gran Sasso E Monti della Laga
  2. Majella (2  795 meters with Assembles Amaro) - Protected by the national park from Majella
  3. Velino Sirente (2  486 meters in Velino) - Protected by the regional park from Velino-Sirente
  4. Monti Sibillini (2  476 meters with Assembles Vettore) - Protected by the national park from Monti Sibillini
  5. Monti della Laga (2  458 meters with assembles Gorzano) - Protected by the National park from Gran Sasso E Monti della Laga
  6. Monti Marsicani (2  285 meters with Assembles Greco) - Protected by the national park from the Abruzzi
  7. the Solid mass from Pollino (2  267 meters with Tightened Dolcedorme) - Protected by the national park from Pollino
  8. Monti Reatini (2  216 meters with Assembles Terminillo) - Not protected
  9. Apennin Tosco-Emiliano (2  165 meters with Assembles Cimone) - Protected by the national park of the apennin Tosco-emiliano
  10. Monti Simbruini (2  156 meters with Assembles Viglio) - Protected by the regional park from Monti Simbruini
  11. Monti del Matese (2  050 meters with Assembles miletto) - Protected by the interregional park from Matese

Fauna and Flora

Thanks to its many parks, the chain of the Apennines is relatively well preserved and intact. One finds there: There is also the Renard, the Blaireau, the Belette, the Martre, the Fouine, the Hermine in the Apennines of north, the Loutre, the stag, the Chevreuil, the Daim, the Wildcat, the Campagnol of snows. Among the birds one can note the bearded Gypaète in the south of the Apennines, the Circaète on Gran Sasso, the alpine chocard and the Crave with red nozzle, the Niverolle, the alpine Accenteur, the crossbill, the Pivert, the black Pic, the Pic épeiche, the Pic épeichette, the Pic with white back in the south of the the Abruzzi, the alpine tichodrome, the Sittelle, the Faisan, the Effraie, the Chouette, the Owl large-duke. There exist also Reptile S very threatened in Europe like the Vipère of Orsini, and the Amphibians like the tâchetée salamander. The butterfly Apollon surveys also the highest solid masses of the chain. However, the Marmot and the Bouquetin disappeared from the Apennines.

The forests of the Apennines are similar with the other forests of the other European solid masses. They extend between 800 and 1.800 meters from altitude. The beech is the tree dominating, but there are also oaks, elms, chestnuts, charms, larches, limes, and all kinds of shrubs. The indigenous fir tree can still be on the monti della Laga, Gran Sasso and in the national park of the the Abruzzi. A forest of birches still papers the slopes of Velino and Etna. Among the fruits of wood, there is the strawberry plant, the raspberry cane, the bilberry, the currant, the mulberry tree. Because of natural barrier generated by the Alps, the Apennines are biologically pure, and are not reached by the rage or the échinoccocose, diseases dangerous which contaminate very many solid masses of Europe of is in west: one can thus quietly eat fruits of wood in lower part of 30 cm of the ground without no fear. Among the flowers of mountain one can name the yellow gentian, the spring gentian, the blue gentian of the Apennines, the ancolie, the joubarbe, the peonies, the saxifrage with sheets opposed, the adonis, and same edelweisses of the Apennines to be contemplated on Monti Sibillini, Gran Sasso and Majella. The lady's slipper pushes in the national park of the the Abruzzi.

Sports and leisures

Many stations of Ski are spread out in splendid small valleys incontaminées. The greatest ski station of the Apennines east that of Roccaraso, with its 100 km of track (as much as the greatest station of the Pyrenees), in the the Abruzzi. Tuscany proposes also Abetone (50 km of tracks), while the the Abruzzi reproposent Campo Felice and Ovindoli (each one 30 km of tracks). The the Abruzzi alone contain 21 ski stations (6th Italian area for its tracks).

The Apennines however have splendid basic ski slopes in the middle of thousand-year-old forests and in the middle of the parks. Gran Sasso is the true alpine landscape of the Apennines. Very many managed refuges propose races in high mountain between Alpine skiing, Randonnée, excursions, Alpinisme and Escalade. The Torrent S can be descended in Rafting or Canoë. Moreover, almost all tops of the Apennines and in clear weather, one, even two seas can be seen.

But there as exists of many paths discovered in the middle of wild nature as privilege the parks. The national park of the the Abruzzi is besides the first created in Europe (in 1922). The many parks which protect the Apennines, in addition to with their function preserving nature, are developing the villages and the landscapes, with the result that, contrary to the Western rest of Europe, medium mountains of the Apennines is not in the process of depopulation or of abandonment.


See too

  • Department of the Apennines
  • Maresca
  • Lentula

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