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Western Alps

Western part of the Alps mountain range

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated May 25, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland (e.g. Valais). In the southeast the range is bounded by the Italian Padan Plain. In the west, the valley of the Rhone river separates it from the Massif Central. The northernmost part of the Western Alps - in the wide meaning of the term - is formed by the Swiss Prealps Sub-Range.

The peaks and mountain passes are higher compared to the Eastern Alps, while the range itself is not so broad and more arched.

01Partizione delle Alpi

In the Partizione delle Alpi (in English literally Partition of the Alps), adopted by the Italian Comitato Geografico Nazionale (National Geographic Committee) in 1926 following the IX Congresso Geografico Italiano (Italian Geographic Congress), the Alpine Range is divided into three main parts: Western, Central and Eastern Alps.

In this traditional subdivision, the Western Alps start from the Bocchetta di Altare (or Colle di Cadibona) and end with the Col Ferret.

The Partizione delle Alpi divides the Western Alps into the following eight sections (in brackets the section number):

Maritime Alps (1), Cottian Alps (2), Graian Alps (3), Provence Alps (4), Dauphiné Alps (5), Provence Prealps (6), Dauphiné Prealps (7) and Savoy Prealps (8).

The eight Western Alps sections (1-8) according to the Partizione delle Alpi
The eight Western Alps sections (1-8) according to the Partizione delle Alpi

02Maps

Watch videos about Western AlpsExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Western Alps”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Central Eastern Alps

The Central Eastern Alps, also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (German: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia. South of them is the Southern Limestone Alps.

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide, and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the south. The peaks and mountain passes are lower than the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.

Geography of the Alps

The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Germany and Hungary. This article describes the delimitation of the Alps as a whole and of subdivisions of the range, follows the course of the main chain of the Alps and discusses the lakes and glaciers found in the region.