Alps

the central mountain mass of Europe. The Alps are a mass of mountains, rather than a chain. Their limits, counting spurs and valleys, are hard to define. There are two general divisions--the Swiss Alps and the Tyrolese Alps. The latter occupy that portion of Austria known as the Tyrol. Geologically the Alps occupy Switzerland and the Tyrol, as well as portions of Germany, Austria, Italy, and France. There are over three hundred peaks, having a height of from 5,000 to 16,000 feet. St. Gothard is considered the geological center of the system. Mt. Blanc, 15,781 feet, is the highest peak.

Owing to its accessibility, no other system of mountains has been studied so thoroughly as that of the Alps. The effect of altitude on animal life and vegetation, barometric pressure, the precipitation of snow and rain by the influence of cool summits on moisture-laden air, the flow of glaciers, the effect of mountains on the freedom-loving spirit of their inhabitants, the building of rack and pinion railways, railway tunnels, the effect of heights on breathing, and on the temperature requisite for boiling water, are only a few of the problems that have been studied in the Alps. No other mountains of equal height and extent are penetrated by so many valleys and gaps, allowing not only the passage of men, plants, and animals in their migrations, but the passage of winds as well. The Alps shelter no desert region cut off from rain. Geologically the Alps have been described as a kernel of granite and gneiss wrapped in a covering of limestone.

A very interesting summary of climatic conditions may be made by a division of the Alps into six regions, largely according to elevation:

1. The olive region. The olive, lemon, and evergreen oak flourish in protected valleys at the southern foot of the mountains and about the Italian lakes.

2. The vine region. Grapes are produced in deep sunny valleys throughout.

3. The region of deciduous trees. The lower slopes of the mountains are every-where covered with a growth of trees, up to a height of from 4,000 to 5,500 feet above the sea according to exposure. The more heat, the higher these forests. The roads and footpaths wind delightfully through groves of oak, ash, elm, beech, hazel, walnut, and sycamore.

4. The region of coniferous trees. Above the beech line the mountain highways and paths begin to climb more rapidly through spruce, pine, and fir forests. Lofty fir trees rise from the mountain sides and spring from heaps of boulders with apparently no footing beyond the loose rocks which they clutch with their roots, like the talons of an eagle. The roadside inns, farmhouses, and mountain chalets, constructed of hewed fir, turn to a rich brown, harmonizing wonderfully with the scenery.

5. The region of pasture. From 6,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea-level the firs come to an end, and the grassy pastures for which alpine regions are noted begin. Cattle and goats are driven up to the pastures in the summer season and down into the shelter of the valleys and forests for winter. The celebrated Swiss dairy cow is from this region.

6. The region of perpetual snow. Above the pastures comes the snow line from 8,000 to 9,500 feet above the sea. Heavy snows fall even in midsummer, and are packed into glaciers that run down through the pasturage belt, often far into the forest below.

The profusion and ever-changing variety of flowers to be found in the valleys as they rise higher and higher have long made the Alps a botanist's paradise. The grassy heights below the snow line are noticeable for bright flowers found only in similar localities in the Pyrenees, the Carpathians, or on distant Ararat. This alpine flora, as it is called, includes rare species of the pink, saxifrage, cress, hawkweed, thyme, harebell, primula, violet, and gentian. Many of these, and especially an everlasting known as the edelweiss, grow beyond the range of grass or shrubs, wherever a bit of soil shows among the snow banks.

The valleys of the Alps contain many snow-fed lakes of marvelous clearness. They are well stocked with fish, especially those of the trout and salmon kind that prefer cool water. The Alps have been the last refuge of many wild animals. The ancient urus, or wild bull of the Canton of Uri, has disappeared within historic times. The elk, the wild boar, and the beaver have gone too; but the brown bear of Berne, the wolf, the lynx, and the wildcat still survive. Deer,--red, fallow, and roe,--still roam the forest regions, the shy chamois still climbs the rocks, and the ibex, wilder still, with curved horns haunts the very snow line. A marmot allied to the woodchuck thrives in the stony pastures.

Birds find the Alps a place of shelter for their summer nests. In the forests and uplands are found several species of grouse, including the cock of the woods, ptarmigan, blackcock, and rock partridge. The rock chough, a crow-like bird with a yellow bill and legs, builds on glacial cliffs 10,000 feet above the sea. The snow bird and the snow finch ascend still higher. The lammergeier or lamb-stealer, the alpine eagle, still circles the mountains with long sweep of wing.

Animal life extends higher than plant life. Animals are found at some distance above the line of plants. Beetles and similar species shelter under stones. Naturalists have observed that, while alpine flowers are brilliant, the insects lose color, and many species have been so long afraid to trust themselves in the gusty air, lest they be swept away from their homes, that they have lost their wings altogether. Highest of all are snow fleas. Even spiders are found on rocks 14,000 feet above the sea. Curiously enough, an alpine frog climbs as high as grass grows, and a toad follows closely after. While there is much similarity between the flora and fauna of the higher Alps and those of arctic regions, the climate of the Alps is much more favorable. Day and night, summer and winter, follow in regular succession. In midsummer the alpine day is hot even on an ice sheet. The sun of a midwinter day mitigates the severity of the weather. At night life may seek shelter; but within the Arctic Circle a long, bitter, cold winter night lasts for months without a ray of light or heat.

See Switzerland; Tyrol; Berne; Geneva; Lucerne; Blanc; St. Gothard; Bernard