The Alps are one of the best studied mountain belts in the world. In fact, if you just type "Alps" into a GeoRef search, you'll come up with 24,635 articles! To be fair, I should mention that there are the New Zealand Alps but in any case, there is plenty of work that has been done in the European Alps. What I have tried to do with this website is just to pick out some interesting tidbits of Alpine geology from a few different perspectives. There is no way that I could cover everything about the Alps. I do need to graduate at some point. :-)

The Alps are also the birthplace of mountaineering and downhill skiing. Home to 61 peaks that are over 4000m (>14,000ft), mountains like the Eiger and Matterhorn continue to draw climbers from all over the world.

Click on the map for information about mountaineering in the Alps.

Click on the pictures below for more information about these peaks.


Finsteraarhorn (left), Eiger (middle), Matterhorn (right)

[ Alpine Overview | Geology | Geophysics | Geodynamics | Tectonic History | References ]