Mountains and Plains
Almost 40% of the Italian territory is mountainous, with the Alps as the northern boundary and the Apennine Mountains forming the backbone of the peninsula and extending for 1,350 km (840 mi). In between the two lies a large plain in the valley of the Po, the largest river in Italy, which flows 652 km (405 mi) eastward from the Cottian Alps to the Adriatic. The Po Valley is the largest plain in Italy, with 46,000 km2 (18,000 sq mi), and it represents over 70% of the total plain area in the country.
The Alpine mountain range is linked with the Apennines with the Colle di Cadibona pass in the Ligurian Alps.
Worldwide-known mountains in Italy are Matterhorn (Cervino), Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso in the West Alps, and Bernina, Stelvio and Dolomites along the eastern side of the Alps. The highest peak in Italy is Mont Blanc, at 4,810 metres (15,780 ft) above sea level. Mont Blanc is also the highest mountain in Europe.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Italy
Famous quotes containing the words mountains and/or plains:
“Fogs and clouds which conceal the overshadowing mountains lend the breadth of the plains to mountain vales. Even the small-featured country acquires some grandeur in stormy weather when clouds are seen drifting between the beholder and the neighboring hills.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The Plains are not forgiving. Anything that is shallow—the easy optimism of a homesteader; the false hope that denies geography, climate, history; the tree whose roots don’t reach ground water—will dry up and blow away.”
—Kathleen Norris (b. 1947)