Editing Main chain of the Alps (section)

==Main features==
The Alpine Divide is defined for much of its distance by the watershed between the drainage basin of the [[Po (river)|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.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwJ7ekNVh6QC | title=Climate Change in the European Alps | publisher=[[OECD]] | year=2007 | pages=18 | isbn=9789264031692 |quote=They are generally divided into the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, separated by Rhine and the Splügen pass in eastern Switzerland.}}</ref>

* 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).<ref name="smc4810.45">{{cite web |title=Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years |date=2009-11-05 |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214082228/https://www.smh.com.au/environment/mont-blanc-shrinks-by-45cm-in-two-years-20091106-i0kk.html |archive-date=2023-02-14 |url-status=live |url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/mont-blanc-shrinks-by-45cm-in-two-years-20091106-i0kk.html}}</ref>

=== Eastern Alps ===
[[File:Fuscherkarkopf- Sinwelleck.JPG|thumb|Main ridge ([[Fuscherkarkopf]]) 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 (river)|Adda]], traverses [[Piz Murtarol]] (3,180 m) and [[Monte Forcola]], where is the tripoint between the Danube, Po and [[Adige]] basins,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://s.geo.admin.ch/9720cdf776 | title=Monte Forcola on the Swiss National Map | publisher=[[Federal Office of Topography]] | accessdate=4 April 2022}}</ref> 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&nbsp;km from the [[Inn River|Inn]] valley. Eastward of this pass, the main chain runs north-east to the [[Brenner Pass]] along the snowy crest of the [[Ötztal Alps|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 Pass|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 [[drainage basin|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 Eveques 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&nbsp;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]].

[[File:Witenwasserenstock Tripoint.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Witenwasserenstock]] 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),<ref name="smc4810.45" /> 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 (mountain)|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 Splugenpass, all the highest summits rise on the divide. From there to the [[Gotthard pass|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 Pass|Maloja]] the watershed between the basins of the [[Rhine]] and [[Po River|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&nbsp;m). Here the divide veers back east over the [[Vogelberg]] (3,220 m) to the San Bernardino Pass (2,067 m), then over the [[Tambohorn|Pizzo Tambo]] (3,279 m), the [[Splugenpass]] (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).