Southern Limestone Alps

The Southern Limestone Alps (Italian: Alpi Sud-orientali, German: Südliche Kalkalpen), also called the Southern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent lands of Austria and Slovenia. The distinction from the Central Alps, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition. The Southern Limestone Alps extend from the Sobretta-Gavia range in Lombardy in the west to the Pohorje in Slovenia in the east.

Southern Limestone Alps
Fanes group of the Dolomites
Highest point
Peak	Ortler
Elevation	3,905 m (12,812 ft)
Coordinates	46°30′32″N 10°32′42″E
Geography
Countries	Austria Slovenia Italy Switzerland
States	Carinthia East Tyrol Friuli-Venezia Giulia Veneto Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Lombardy
Parent range	Eastern Alps
Geology
Rock ages	Mesozoic Tertiary
Rock types	Limestone dolomite

Alpine Club classification

Groups of the Southern Limestone Alps
(purple lines showing international borders and the borders of Austrian states)

Ranges of the Southern Limestone Alps according to the Alpine Club classification (from east to west):

• Pohorje (1)
• Kamnik–Savinja Alps (2)
• Karawanks (3)
• Julian Alps (4)
• Gailtal Alps (5)
• Carnic Alps (6)
• Southern Carnic Alps (7)
• Dolomites (8)
• Fiemme Mountains (9)
• Vicentine Alps (10)
• Nonsberg Group (11)
• Brenta Group (12)
• Garda Mountains (13)
• Ortler Alps (14)
• Adamello-Presanella Alps (15)
• Sobretta-Gavia Group (16)

Physiography

The Southern Alps are a distinct physiographic section of the larger Alps province, which in turn is part of the larger Alpine System physiographic division.

See also

AVE classification:

  Northern Limestone Alps

  Central Eastern Alps

  Southern Limestone Alps

  Western Limestone Alps

• Geography of the Alps
• Limestone Alps
• Northern Limestone Alps
• List of mountain groups in the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps

References

• Franz Graßler (1984), DAV; OeAV; AVS (eds.), "Alpenvereinseinteilung der Ostalpen (AVE): Alpenvereins-Jahrbuch", Berg '84 (in German), vol. 108, pp. 215–224
• Dr. Josef Moriggl (1928), Hauptausschuß des D. u. Ö. Alpenvereins (ed.), Ratgeber für Alpenwanderer in den Ostalpen: Mit Schutzhüttenverzeichnis (in German) (2 ed.), Munich{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• Media related to Southern Limestone Alps at Wikimedia Commons