Mont Blanc Monte Bianco |
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Summit of Mont Blanc and the Bosses ridge
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 4,808 m (15,774 ft) |
Prominence | 4696 m ↓ by Lake Kubenskoye Ranked 11th |
Isolation | 2,812 km → Kukurtlu |
Parent peak | Mount Everest |
Listing |
Country high point Ultra Seven Summits |
Coordinates | 45°50′01″N 006°51′54″E / 45.83361°N 6.86500°ECoordinates: 45°50′01″N 006°51′54″E / 45.83361°N 6.86500°E |
Geography | |
Location |
Aosta Valley, Italy Haute-Savoie, France |
Parent range | Graian Alps |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat Michel-Gabriel Paccard |
Mont Blanc (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ blɑ̃]) or Monte Bianco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmonte ˈbjaŋko]), both meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest in Europe after the Caucasus peaks. It rises 4,808 m (15,774 ft) above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence.
The mountain lies in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. The location of the summit is on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy and the valleys of Montjoie, and Arve in France. The Mont Blanc massif is popular for mountaineering, hiking, skiing, and snowboarding.
The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are Courmayeur in Aosta Valley, Italy, and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, France. The latter town was the site of the first Winter Olympics. A cable car ascends and crosses the mountain range from Courmayeur to Chamonix, through the Col du Géant. Constructed beginning in 1957 and completed in 1965, the 11.6 km (7¼ mi) Mont Blanc Tunnel runs beneath the mountain between these two countries and is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes.