French Alps

French Alps
Aerial photograph of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, from the west
Highest point
PeakMont Blanc
Elevation4,807.45 m (15,772.5 ft)
Coordinates45°50′01″N 06°51′54″E / 45.83361°N 6.86500°E / 45.83361; 6.86500
Naming
Native nameFrench: Alpes françaises
Geography
Ranges of the French Alps.
French regions
Borders onSwiss Alps, Italian Alps
Geology
OrogenyAlpine orogeny
Rock ageTertiary
Rock types
  • Bündner schist
  • flysch
  • molasse

The French Alps (French: Alpes françaises; Arpitan: Ârpes francêses; Occitan: Aups francesas; Ligurian: Arpi françéixi) are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as the Mont Blanc massif, are shared with Switzerland and Italy.

At 4,808 metres (15,774 ft), Mont Blanc, on the France–Italy border, is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the highest Western European mountain.[1]

Notable towns in the French Alps include Grenoble, Chamonix, Annecy, Chambéry, Évian-les-Bains and Albertville.

  1. ^ "Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-11-05. Archived from the original on 2023-02-14.