| Adula Alps | |
|---|---|
 Some peaks: Piz Medel (left, 3,210 m), Piz Uffiern (3,151 m), Piz dalla Siala (3,023 m), Piz a Spescha (3,109 m) | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Rheinwaldhorn |
| Elevation | 3,402 metres (11,161 feet) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | |
| Geography | |
 | |
| State(s) | Cantons of Ticino, Graubünden, and Uri, Switzerland Province of Sondrio in Lombardy, Italy |
| Range coordinates | 47°29′37″N 9°02′24″E / 47.49361°N 9.04°E |
| Parent range | Lepontine Alps |
| Borders on | Rhaetian Alps, Bernese Alps and Glarus Alps |
| Geology | |
| Orogeny | Alpine |
The Adula Alps, also known as the West Graubünden and Misox Alps, are a western Alpine mountain group, the part of the Lepontine Alps from the Lukmanier and St Gotthard Passes to the Splügen Pass.
They lie mostly in Switzerland, in the Cantons of Ticino, Graubünden, and Uri, and partly in Italy, in the province of Sondrio in Lombardy, stretching south to Lake Como. They form subsection 10B of the Alps, according to the Partizione delle Alpi, and subsection 10 III, according to the unified orographic classification of the Alps by Sergio Marazzi (SOIUSA).
A string of mountains of the Adula stand on the international border between Switzerland and Italy, including Pizzo Tambò, Piz di Pian, Cima de Pian Guarnei (Pizzo Quadro), Cime di Val Loga, Piz Tamborello, Piz della Forcola, Pizzaccio, and Cima dello Stagn, while Pizzo Ferré is near the border on the Italian side.
The mountain guides of the Swiss Alpine Club do not lead climbers in groups for the Adula Alps, but attach parts of them to other sections.[1]
The highest peak is the Rheinwaldhorn (3,402 metres; 11,161 feet), which in Italian is called the Adula, giving the range its name.[2]
The main valleys are Val Malvaglia, which drains into the lower Blenio Valley, and three others draining south out of the Adula Alps, which are, from west to east, Val Calanca, Valle Mesolcina, and Valle Spluga (or San Giacomo).[3]
The creation of an Adula National Park was planned by Switzerland for sixteen years, from 2000. It would have become only the second in the country, after the Swiss National Park, but in November 2016 the inhabitants voted against it.[4][5]
- ^ "Bündner Alpen, Bd. 2, Vom Lukmanier zum Domleschg by Manfred Hunziker", outline at hikr.org/books, accessed 3 October 2023 (in German)
- ^ Kev Reynolds, The Swiss Alps (2014), p. 286
- ^ Kev Reynolds, Walking in the Alps: A comprehensive guide (2011), p. 222
- ^ Franca Siegfried, "Poor communication torpedoes a second national park", Horizons, 05/09/2019, accessed 2 October 2023
- ^ Annina Helena Michel, André Bruggmann, "Conflicting Discourses: Understanding the Rejection of a Swiss National Park Project Using Data Analysis Triangulation" in Mountain Research and Development 39(1) (June 2019), R24-R36