French Alps | |
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![]() Aerial photograph of the Mont Blanc massif, the tallest mountain in the French Alps, seen from the west
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Highest point | |
Peak | Mont Blanc |
Elevation | 4,810.45 m (15,782.3 ft) |
Coordinates | 45°50′01″N 06°51′54″E / 45.83361°N 6.86500°ECoordinates: 45°50′01″N 06°51′54″E / 45.83361°N 6.86500°E |
Geography | |
French regions |
Rhône-Alpes Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
Borders on | Swiss Alps, Italian Alps |
Geology | |
Orogeny | Alpine orogeny |
Age of rock | Tertiary |
Type of rock | Bündner schist, flysch and molasse |
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as the Mont Blanc massif, are shared with Switzerland and/or Italy.
At 4,808 metres (15,774 ft), Mont Blanc (Italian: Monte Bianco), on the French-Italian border, is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the highest Western European mountain.
Notable towns in the French Alps include Grenoble, Chamonix, Annecy, Chambéry, Évian-les-Bains and Albertville.
The largest connected ski areas are:
The other large ski areas are:
A range of winter and summer activities are available in the French Alps. In the winter, these include skiing and snowboarding as well as alternatives such as snowshoeing, sledging. There is a range of other activities that happen such as gliding which most happens during the summer months. Summer activities include hiking, mountaineering, biking and rock climbing.
Mont Blanc (4,810 m)
Aiguille du Dru (3,754 m)
Aiguille Verte (4,122 m)
Mer de Glace, Dent du Géant (4,013 m) and Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) in Chamonix (c. 1890)