Three-thousander
Encyclopedia
Three-thousanders are mountain
s with a height of between 3,000, but less than 4,000 metres above sea level. Similar terms are commonly used for mountains of other height brackets e. g. four-thousander
s or eight-thousander
s.
lies at around 4,500 to 5,000 metres, and in the dry continental areas (Trans-Himalayas, Andes) it may be up to 6,500 metres high.
s exceed this height – e. g. in the Southern Alps
, in the eastern part of Austria
, in the Limestone Alps
, in the Pyrenees
or the rest of Europe. For example, the Parseierspitze
in the Lechtal Alps
at 3,036 m is the only three-thousander in the Northern Limestone Alps
.
In the Alps or Pyrenees, expeditions to areas of over 3,000 metres, with their often steep mountainsides and sudden changes in weather conditions, require mountaineers to have considerable experience and weatherproof equipment, which distinguishes them from ascents of many two-thousanders.
The term "easy three-thousander" (Leichte Dreitausender) or "Hikable three-thousander" (Wanderdreitausender) describes mountains above 3,000 metres with routes that do not pose any particular challenges. Typical "easy" three-thousanders, for example, include the Piz Boe
(3,152 m) in South Tyrol, which is an hour's walk from the Pordoi Cable Car, or the 3,033 m high Piz Umbrail
, accessible from the Umbrail Pass
. Amongst the highest easy three-thousanders in the Alps are the Üsser Barrhorn (3,620 m) in the Wallis Alps and the Monte Vioz
(3,645 m, southern Ortler Alps
). For ascents of these mountains the main risk is the lack of acclimatisation at these heights. The highest technically accessible three-thousanders in the Alps (and also the highest cable cars in Europe) are the Klein Matterhorn
(3,883 m) near Zermatt and the Aiguille du Midi
(3,842 m) on Mont Blanc.
The easternmost three-thousanders in the Alps are in the Hafner Group in the east of the High Tauern (from west to east: Großer Hafner 3,076 m, Lanischhafner 3,018 m, Lanischeck 3,022 m, Großer or Malteiner Sonnblick 3,030 m and Mittlerer Sonnblick 3,000 m). The northernmost 3,000ers are in the northern chains of the High Tauern, Zillertal
, Ötztal
and Stubai Alps
(as well as the Parseierspitze in the Lechtal Alps
). The southernmost 3,000ers are on the main chain of the Maritime Alps
(Argentara Group), the Mercantour and the Pelat Group with about a dozen main peaks over 3,000 metres above sea level. In the eastern Alps the southern boundary lies in the Bergamo Alps
(3 main summits), of the Adamello–Presanella Group (about a dozen) and the Dolomites
(about 50 peaks). So the ranges of the Alps that contain mountains over the 3,000 m mark comprise roughly two thirds of the area, the 3,000er zone in the Western Alps coming much closer to the edge of the Alpin region than in the Eastern Alps with their extensive system of foothills. The easternmost 3,000er is over 200 kilometres from the Pannonian Alpine perimeter, the westernmost only about 60 from the Rhone
valley. A large part of this sensitive, high Alpine region is protected by conservation areas, but it also forms the touristic heart of the Alps.
Switzerland
, France
, Austria
and Italy
have many hundreds of Alpine peaks over 3,000 metres. Germany's Zugspitze
, at 2,964 m, just falls below the line, whilst Slovenia
's Triglav
is well under it. Liechtenstein
, despite being the only country lying entirely within the Alps, has no 3,000ers on its territory.
, which otherwise, in Mount Elbrus
(5,642 m), would have the highest mountain in the continent – only the following ranges have three-thousanders:
Spain
is the only non-Alpine country in Europe with three-thousanders - if one excludes Russia
and Turkey
and the colonies of European states.
Mount Olympus
, the highest mountain in southern Europe, at 2,917 m, does not come close to the mark. The Dinaric Alps
, Carpathian Mountains
and Sistema Central
are less than 2,700 m high, and the other ranges in Europe are below 2,500 m.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s with a height of between 3,000, but less than 4,000 metres above sea level. Similar terms are commonly used for mountains of other height brackets e. g. four-thousander
Four-thousander
A four-thousander is a mountain summit that is at least 4,000 metres above sea level. Because the highest peaks in Europe fall into this category, the summits of four-thousanders are popular in Europe with climbers and mountaineers as climbing goals...
s or eight-thousander
Eight-thousander
The eight-thousanders are the fourteen independent mountains on Earth that are more than high above sea level. They are all located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia....
s.
Climatological significance
In temperate latitudes three-thousanders play an important role, because even in summer they lie below the zero degree line for weeks. Thus the chains of three-thousanders always form important climatic divides and support glaciation - in the Alps the 3,000-metre contour is roughly the general limit of the "nival step"; only a few glaciated mountains are under 3,000 metres (the Dachstein, the easternmost glaciated mountain in the Alps, is, at 2,995 m, not a three-thousander). In the Mediterranean, however, the three-thousanders remain free of ice and, in the tropics, they are almost insignificant from a climatic perspective; here the snow lineSnow line
The climatic snow line is the point above which snow and ice cover the ground throughout the year. The actual snow line may seasonally be significantly lower....
lies at around 4,500 to 5,000 metres, and in the dry continental areas (Trans-Himalayas, Andes) it may be up to 6,500 metres high.
Alpinism
The designation "three-thousander" is often used for touristic reasons where only a few individual summitSummit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
s exceed this height – e. g. in the Southern Alps
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
, in the eastern part of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in the Limestone Alps
Limestone Alps
The Limestone Alps are the two mountain ranges, roughly long, which run parallel to the main mountain range of the Austrian Central Alps and to its north and south...
, in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
or the rest of Europe. For example, the Parseierspitze
Parseierspitze
Parseierspitze is, at 3,036 metres tall, the highest mountain of the Northern Limestone Alps and the only one that exceeds the 3,000 m mark. The peak consists of Radiolarite rocks preventing it from erosion....
in the Lechtal Alps
Lechtal Alps
The Lechtal Alps are a mountain-range in western Austria, and part of the greater Northern Limestone Alps range. Named for the Lech River which drains them north-ward into Germany, the Lechtal Alps occupy the Austrian states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg and are known for their diverse rock...
at 3,036 m is the only three-thousander in the Northern Limestone Alps
Northern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition...
.
In the Alps or Pyrenees, expeditions to areas of over 3,000 metres, with their often steep mountainsides and sudden changes in weather conditions, require mountaineers to have considerable experience and weatherproof equipment, which distinguishes them from ascents of many two-thousanders.
The term "easy three-thousander" (Leichte Dreitausender) or "Hikable three-thousander" (Wanderdreitausender) describes mountains above 3,000 metres with routes that do not pose any particular challenges. Typical "easy" three-thousanders, for example, include the Piz Boe
Piz Boè
Piz Boè is the main peak of the Sella-Group a mountain-range in the Dolomites, Italy. It has an elevation of .-External links:**...
(3,152 m) in South Tyrol, which is an hour's walk from the Pordoi Cable Car, or the 3,033 m high Piz Umbrail
Piz Umbrail
Piz Umbrail is a mountain in the Ortler Alps, south of the Umbrail Pass , located on the border between Lombardy and Graubünden .-External links:*...
, accessible from the Umbrail Pass
Umbrail Pass
Umbrail Pass is a high mountain pass on the Swiss-Italian border connecting Santa Maria in Val Müstair with Bormio in the Adda valley. On the Italian side, it connects to the Stelvio Pass road.-See also:* List of highest paved roads in Europe...
. Amongst the highest easy three-thousanders in the Alps are the Üsser Barrhorn (3,620 m) in the Wallis Alps and the Monte Vioz
Monte Vioz
Monte Vioz is a mountain in Northern Italy, at the border between Lombardy and Trentino. It is located in the Ortles – Cevedale mountain chain of the Italian Alps....
(3,645 m, southern Ortler Alps
Ortler Alps
The Ortler Alps are a mountain range in the central Alps of Italy. They are considered to be part of the Central Eastern Alps or the Southern Limestone Alps....
). For ascents of these mountains the main risk is the lack of acclimatisation at these heights. The highest technically accessible three-thousanders in the Alps (and also the highest cable cars in Europe) are the Klein Matterhorn
Klein Matterhorn
The Klein Matterhorn is the highest point in the Zermatt-Cervinia ski area in Switzerland, and the end point of the highest cable car in Europe...
(3,883 m) near Zermatt and the Aiguille du Midi
Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps.The cable car to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was built in 1955 and held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent...
(3,842 m) on Mont Blanc.
Alps
Zillertal Alps
The Zillertal Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. The range is named after the Zillertal on its north....
, Ötztal
Ötztal Alps
The Ötztal Alps are a mountain range in the central Alps of Europe, part of the Central Eastern Alps. They are arrayed at the head of the Ötztal, a side valley of the Inn River southwest of Innsbruck, Austria; the line of summits forms part of Austria's border with Italy.The western border is the...
and Stubai Alps
Stubai Alps
The Stubai Alps is a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps of Europe. It is named after the Stubaital valley to its east. It is located southwest of Innsbruck, Austria, and several summits of the range form part of Austria's border with Italy...
(as well as the Parseierspitze in the Lechtal Alps
Lechtal Alps
The Lechtal Alps are a mountain-range in western Austria, and part of the greater Northern Limestone Alps range. Named for the Lech River which drains them north-ward into Germany, the Lechtal Alps occupy the Austrian states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg and are known for their diverse rock...
). The southernmost 3,000ers are on the main chain of the Maritime Alps
Maritime Alps
The Maritime Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French département Alpes-Maritimes and the Italian province of Cuneo. The Col de Tende separates them from the Ligurian Alps; the Maddalena Pass separates them from the Cottian Alps...
(Argentara Group), the Mercantour and the Pelat Group with about a dozen main peaks over 3,000 metres above sea level. In the eastern Alps the southern boundary lies in the Bergamo Alps
Bergamo Alps
The Bergamo Alps are a mountain range in the Italian Alps which forms part of the Central Eastern Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Bergamo, south of the mountains....
(3 main summits), of the Adamello–Presanella Group (about a dozen) and the Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
(about 50 peaks). So the ranges of the Alps that contain mountains over the 3,000 m mark comprise roughly two thirds of the area, the 3,000er zone in the Western Alps coming much closer to the edge of the Alpin region than in the Eastern Alps with their extensive system of foothills. The easternmost 3,000er is over 200 kilometres from the Pannonian Alpine perimeter, the westernmost only about 60 from the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
valley. A large part of this sensitive, high Alpine region is protected by conservation areas, but it also forms the touristic heart of the Alps.
| Easternmost three-thousander in the Alps: | Mittlerer Sonnblick Mittlerer Sonnblick The Mittlerer Sonnblick is a 3,000 metre high sub-peak of the 3,030 metre high Großer Sonnblick, with which it is linked by a knife-edge ridge. It is a border peak between the two Austrian federal states Carinthia and Salzburg in the Ankogel Group, a sub-group of the High Tauern.The mountain has a... |
Austria | 47°03′12.8"N 13°25′54.9"E | |
| Westernmost three-thousander in the Alps: | Le Rochail Le Rochail Le Rochail is a mountain in the French Alps. Located in the Massif des Écrins, the mountain is tall.... |
France | 44°58′51.0"N 6°01′41.0"E | |
| Northernmost three-thousander in the Alps: | Kempsenkopf | Austria | 47°11′43.2"N 12°44′52.5"E | |
| Southernmost three-thousander in the Alps: | Mont Clapier | Italy/France | 44°06′52.7"N 7°25′11.1"E |
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
have many hundreds of Alpine peaks over 3,000 metres. Germany's Zugspitze
Zugspitze
The Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the border between Germany and Austria runs over its western summit. South of the mountain is...
, at 2,964 m, just falls below the line, whilst Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
's Triglav
Triglav
Triglav is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. While its name, meaning "three-headed", can describe its shape as seen from the Bohinj area, the mountain was most probably named after the Slavic god Triglav. The mountain is the preeminent symbol of the Slovene...
is well under it. Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, despite being the only country lying entirely within the Alps, has no 3,000ers on its territory.
Rest of Europe
Apart from the Alps, the dominant range in Europe – if one excludes the CaucasusCaucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, which otherwise, in Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
(5,642 m), would have the highest mountain in the continent – only the following ranges have three-thousanders:
- PyreneesPyreneesThe Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
: Pico de Aneto (3,404m); more than two hundred three-thousanders - Baetic Ranges - Sierra NevadaSierra Nevada (Spain)The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the region of provinces of Granada and Almería in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain, Mulhacén at 3478 m above sea level....
: MulhacénMulhacénMulhacén is the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of the Sierra Nevada range in the Cordillera Penibética...
(3,482 m, highest in southwest Europe), with a good dozen three-thousander massifs.
Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
is the only non-Alpine country in Europe with three-thousanders - if one excludes Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the colonies of European states.
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
, the highest mountain in southern Europe, at 2,917 m, does not come close to the mark. The Dinaric Alps
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in Southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro....
, Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
and Sistema Central
Sistema Central
The Sistema Central is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula.-Description:The Sistema Central is a primary feature of the Meseta Central, the inner Iberian plateau, splitting the meseta into two parts...
are less than 2,700 m high, and the other ranges in Europe are below 2,500 m.