(B) MAIN DIVISIONS OF THE ALPS

(o) South Tyrol and Venetian Alps

It has been seen that the mountain zone on the northern side of the main range of Tyrol extends from the lake of Constance to near Vienna, with a remarkable uniformity both of general aspect and of geological structure, so that no reason much more valid than convenience could be assigned for forming it into two separate divisions. The same remark does not hold good on the southern side of the main range. There is, indeed, a general similarity between the northern and southern zones. Especially, in their geological structure, so far as regards the sedimentary rocks; but in the western portion of the latter --- in the region lying between the Adige and the sources of the scale, and the accumulation of deposits formed from ejected volcanic matter, have profoundly modified the structure and outward aspect of the country. Nowhere else in the Laps do the peaks rise so abruptly and with so little apparent connection, and nowhere are the contrasts depending on differences of geological structure so marked as those which strike the mere passing traveler, when beside rounded masses of red and black porphyry, he sees white and pick crystalline dolomite limestone rising in towers and pinnacles of extra-ordinary height and steepness. Dolomite limestone is found in many other parts of the Alps, but nowhere else is it developed on so grand a scale, and the exquisite beauty of this region has of late years led an increasing number of travelers to spots that before were scarcely known even to the inhabitants of adjoining valleys. Though there are abundant grounds for regarding the district here spoken of as a separate division of the Laps. It is difficult to assign to its satisfactory designation. The larger portion of the region has long been politically connected with Tyrol, and is partly inhabited by a German-speaking population, while the reminder has been politically connected with Venice, and the inhabitants are thoroughly Italian in language and manners. Were it is for a reluctance to introduce new and unfamiliar terms, the present division might be denominated Cimbric Alps, as, according to ancient tradition, the Cimbri, after their final defeat by Marius, sought and found a refuge in this part of the Alps; but for the present it seems best to designated as South Tyrol and Venerian Alps the region lying between the valley of the Adige and the sources of the Drave and the Piave, and south of the great valley traversed by the Eisack and the Rienz between Botzen and Innichen. The eastern limit may best be fixed by the track leasing through the Sextential from Innichen to San Stefano in the head valley of the Piave, and by the road from that place to Conegliano.





Chief Peaks of the South Tyrol and Venetian Alps.

Schlern……………………. 8,405 Cima delle Dodici….……… 7,651
Rosengarten………………. 10,163 Cima d’Asta………………. 9,132
Langkofel…………………. 10,392 Monte Pavione or Col di
Marmolata………………(?) 11,045 Luna……………….. 7,877
Monte Tofana……………. 10,724 Palle di S. Martino…….(?). 10,643
Croda Rossa,or Hohe Gaisl. 10,262 Cimon della Pala….. about. 11,000
Monte Cristallo…………… 10,644 Monte Civetta…………….. 10,440
Drei Zinnen, or Cima di Pelmo……………….……… 10,377
Lavaredo……above. 10,300 Sorapis…………………….. 10,798
Dreischusterspitz………….. 10,368 Antelao…………………….. 10,679
Cima di Posta……………… 7,547 Marmarolo………….above. 10,000
Covelalto…………….above. 7,500


Chief Passes in the South Tyrol and Venetian Alps.

Piano delle Fugazze (Roveredo to Schio), carriage road………. 4,177
Passo di Manazzo (Asiago to Levico), bridle-path ……………... 4,662
Caressa Pass (Botzen to Vigo di Fassa), bridle-path…………… 5,966
Mahlknecht Pass (Vols to campidello), bridle-path……………. 7,016
Fedaya Pass (Val di Fassa to Caprile), footpath……………….. 6,884
La Costonzella (Paneveggio to Primiero), carriage road……… 6,657
Passo di vales (Paneveggio to cencenighe), bridle-path………... 6,877
Grodner Joch (St Ulrich to Bruneck), bridle-path…………….. 7,042
Campolungo (Corfara to Araba), bridle-path…………………. 6,200
Pordoi Pass (Gries to Araba), bridle-path……………………… 7,396
Passo dei Tre Sassi (Andraz to Cortina), carriage road………. 7,073
Monte Giau, or P. di Falzarego (Caprile to Cortina), bridle-path7,511
Peutelstein Pass (Niederndorf to Cortina), carriage road about 5,000
Passo delle Tre Croci (Cortina to Auronzo), bridle-path……… 5,970
Forcella grande (Auronzo to San Vito), footpath……………… 7,536
Kreuzberg (Innichen to S. Stephano), carriage road………….. 5,361





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