Lugano Prealps
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2012) |
Lugano Prealps | |
---|---|
Prealpi Lombarde Occidentali | |
![]() Monte San Primo in winter from Pian del Tivano | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Pizzo di Gino |
Elevation | 2,245 m (7,365 ft) |
Coordinates | 46°06′03″N 9°12′20″E / 46.10083°N 9.20556°E |
Naming | |
Native name | Prealpi Luganesi (Italian) |
Geography | |
Countries | Switzerland and Italy |
Canton, Region | Ticino and Lombardy |
Parent range | Alps |
Borders on | Bergamasque Alps and Prealps, Lepontine Alps, Western Rhaetian Alps and Po plain |
Geology | |
Orogeny | Alpine orogeny |
Type of rock | Sedimentary rocks[1] |
The Lugano Prealps (Prealpi Luganesi or Prealpi Lombarde Occidentali in Italian) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Canton Ticino (southern Switzerland) and Lombardy (northern Italy).
Geography
[edit]Administratively the Italian part of the range belongs to the provinces of Como and Varese, while the Swiss one is divided between the districts of Bellinzona, Locarno, Lugano and Mendrisio.
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/The_Lombard_Pre-Alps_of_Lake_Como_portrayed_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg/220px-The_Lombard_Pre-Alps_of_Lake_Como_portrayed_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg)
The western slopes of the mountains are drained by the Ticino, the eastern ones by Adda and the southern-central part of them by Lambro, Olona and other minor rivers and streams, all of them directly or indirectly tributaries of the Po.
SOIUSA classification
[edit]According to SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain range is an Alpine section, classified in the following way:[2]
- main part = Western Alps
- major sector = North Western Alps
- section = Lugano Prealps
- code = I/B-11
Borders
[edit]Lugano Prealps' borders are (clockwise):
- Lago Maggiore (west),
- Ticino from Locarno to Bellinzona, San Jorio Pass (2.010 m, which connects them with the Lepontine Alps) and San Jorio valley till to Gravedona (north);
- Como lake (east);
- Po Plain (south).
Subdivision
[edit]The Lugano Prealps are divided into two subsections:[2]
- Como Prealps - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.I
- Varese Prealps - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.II,
which are separated by the Monte Ceneri Pass.
These subsections are further divided in supergroups:
- Como Prealps:
- supergroup catena Gino-Camoghè-Fiorina - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.I-A
- supergroup catena Tremezzo-Generoso-Gordona - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.I-B
- supergroup catena del Triangolo Lariano - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.I-B
- Varese Prealps:
- supergroup catena Tamaro-Gambarogno-Lema - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.II-A,
- supergroup catena Piambello-Campo dei Fiori-Nudo - SOIUSA code:I/B-11.II-B.
Summits
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Pizzo_di_Gino.jpg/300px-Pizzo_di_Gino.jpg)
The chief summits of the range are:
Name | metres | feet |
---|---|---|
Pizzo di Gino | 2,245 | 7,363 |
Camoghè | 2,226 | 7,301 |
Gazzirola | 2,116 | 6,940 |
Monte Bregagno | 2,107 | 6,910 |
Monte Tamaro | 1,967 | 6,451 |
Monte Gradiccioli | 1,936 | 6,352 |
Monte Grona | 1,736 | 5,694 |
Monte Generoso | 1,704 | 5,589 |
Monte di Tremezzo | 1,700 | 5,600 |
Monte San Primo | 1,685 | 5,526 |
Monte Lema | 1,621 | 5,316 |
Corni di Canzo | 1,373 | 4,503 |
Sighignola | 1,314 | 4,311 |
Monte Nudo | 1,235 | 4,050 |
Monte Pian Nave | 1,058 | 3,471 |
Monte Minisfreddo | 1,047 | 3,435 |
Poncione di Ganna | 993 | 3,258 |
Monte Chiusarella | 913 | 2,995 |
Colle di Brianza | 877 | 2,877 |
Monte Monarco | 858 | 2,815 |
References
[edit]- ^ VV. AA. (1999). Lombardia : esclusa Milano (in Italian). Touring Club Italiano. p. 37.
- ^ a b Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.
Maps
[edit]- Italian official cartography (Istituto Geografico Militare - IGM); on-line version: www.pcn.minambiente.it
- Swiss official cartography (Swiss Federal Office of Topography - Swisstopo); on-line version: map.geo.admin.ch