Mont Blanc massif

The Mont Blanc massif is a <a href="/facts/Mountain_range/L7vxtr7A">mountain range</a> in the <a href="/facts/Alps/Q3zdQId4">Alps</a>, located mostly in <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> and <a href="/facts/Italy/tUf0PDYF">Italy</a>, but also straddling <a href="/facts/Switzerland/LcGuxeTe">Switzerland</a> at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) in height. It is named after <a href="/facts/Mont_Blanc/Ds8dBfL2">Mont Blanc</a> (4,808 metres (15,774 ft)), the highest point in <a href="/facts/Western_Europe/YmWlV59w">western Europe</a> and the <a href="/facts/European_Union/6GYcR8qM">European Union</a>. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the <a href="/facts/Massif/0tR9poFq">massif</a> is covered by <a href="/facts/Glacier/8GrKVUSS">glaciers</a>, which include the <a href="/facts/Mer_de_Glace/8MNtnwL8">Mer de Glace</a> and the <a href="/facts/Miage_Glacier/Ypa1YoGq">Miage Glacier</a> – the longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
The massif forms a <a href="/facts/Drainage_divide/47p3QtJU">watershed</a> between the vast <a href="/facts/Drainage_basin/lzsx0XJS">catchments</a> of the rivers <a href="/facts/Rh%25C3%25B4ne/529GangA">Rhône</a> and <a href="/facts/Po_(river)/jtwDSkgw">Po</a>, and a <a href="/facts/Tripoint/j9IFVW6w">tripoint</a> between France, Italy and Switzerland; it also marks the border between two <a href="/facts/Climate_classification/GPEqmSp2">climate regions</a> by separating the northern and western Alps from the southern Alps. The mountains of the massif consist mostly of <a href="/facts/Granite/G2evuVKo">granite</a> and <a href="/facts/Gneiss/rUJYgBHu">gneiss</a> rocks and at high altitudes the vegetation is an <a href="/facts/Arctic-alpine/QEEl6fr4">arctic-alpine</a> flora.
The valleys that delimit the massif were used as communication routes by the <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Romans</a> until they left around the 5th century AD. The region remained of some military importance through to the mid-20th century. A peasant farming economy operated within these valleys for many centuries until the glaciers and mountains were "discovered" by the outside world in the 18th century. Word of these impressive sights began to spread, and Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786, marking the start of the sport of mountaineering. The region is now a major tourist destination, drawing in over six million visitors per year. It provides a wide range of opportunities for outdoor recreation and activities such as sight-seeing, <a href="/facts/Hiking/agJbxevo">hiking</a>, <a href="/facts/Rock_climbing/wd5WnGnG">rock climbing</a>, <a href="/facts/Mountaineering/K18NzclN">mountaineering</a> and <a href="/facts/Skiing/wvzTW0j8">skiing</a>. Around one hundred people a year die across its mountains and, occasionally, bodies have been lost and entombed in its glaciers for decades.
Access into the mountains is facilitated by <a href="/facts/Aerial_lift/PXuSBW8R">cable cars</a>, <a href="/facts/Mountain_railway/TJ8nURo8">mountain railways</a> and <a href="/facts/Mountain_hut/sjoyDKGE">mountain huts</a> which offer overnight refuge to climbers and skiers. The long-distance <a href="/facts/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc/KQo5nwRL">Tour du Mont Blanc</a> hiking trail circumnavigates the whole massif in an 11-day trek of 170 kilometres (110 mi). The <a href="/facts/Mont_Blanc_Tunnel/KpHlljLt">Mont Blanc Tunnel</a> connects the French town of <a href="/facts/Chamonix/g99cE5UE">Chamonix</a> on the northern side with the Italian town of <a href="/facts/Courmayeur/WQQJbEB8">Courmayeur</a> in the south. The high mountains have provided many opportunities for scientific research, including <a href="/facts/Neutrino/yGWVfSg2">neutrino</a> measurements within the tunnel and <a href="/facts/Effects_of_climate_change/M5EvHf14">impact of climate change</a> on its highest slopes. Recent rises in average temperatures have led to significant <a href="/facts/Retreat_of_glaciers_since_1850/3RVRal9J">glacial retreat</a> across the massif and an awareness of the need for better environmental protection, including a call for <a href="/facts/World_Heritage_Site/6AbWWKV4">World Heritage Site</a> status.

Mont Blanc massif open-in-new

Mont Blanc massif