CLIL360 2014 All rights reserved. May be photocopied for use in the classroom.

Map of the Alps by Perconte licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5.

Photo of Alpine skiier by Charles J Sharp licensed under CC BY 2.5
The Alps cover 192,000 square kilometres of land
and stretch over 1200 kilometres from Austria and
Slovenia in the east, through Liechtenstein, Italy
and Germany, and to France and Switzerland in
the west. About 13 million people live in the Alps.
Two of Europes biggest rivers, the Rhine and the
Danube, start in the Alps.

Tourism
The Alps are one of the most popular tourist
areas in the world. More than 120 million people
visit the Alps every year. Popular tourist towns
include Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Davos, St
Moritz, Chamonix and Cortina d'Ampezzo. In the
winter, many people ski in the mountains. In the
summer many people walk in the mountains. The
Winter Olympic Games have been held in the
Alps many times.

Mountains
The Alps contains 82 mountains higher than 4000
metres, including Mont Blanc, The Matterhorn,
Monte Rosa and Piz Bernina. These mountains
are known as the 'Four Thousanders'. Karl Blodig
was the first person to climb all the four-thousand
metre mountains, completing this by around 1900.
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (White Mountain) is the highest
mountain in the Alps. It was first climbed on 8th
August 1786 by Michel-Gabriel Paccard and
Jacques Balmat. Today, about 20,000
mountaineers climb Mont Blanc every year.
The Matterhorn
The Matterhorn is the 5th highest mountain in the
Alps but it is the most difficult to climb. It has four
faces and it is shaped like a pyramid. The faces
are very steep so very little snow can sit on the
mountain. The Matterhorn was the last great
Alpine peak to be climbed. This was in 1865 by
an expedition led by Edward Whymper. The climb
ended in disaster when four mountaineers fell to
their deaths on the descent. The Matterhorn is
one of the deadliest peaks in the Alps: from 1865
to 1995, 500 mountaineers died on it.

Formation
The Alps were formed when the African and
Eurasian tectonic plates started to hit each other
300 million years ago. This collision created fold
mountains. The African plate is still moving north,
so the Alps are getting higher. Eventually, the
Alps will be as high as the Himalayas and the
Mediterranean Sea will disappear.

Climate
The Alps have five climate zones.
Above 3000 metres, the ground is always
covered in snow. Very few plants can be
found. This is called the Neve Zone.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 metres, wild
flowers, such as the edelweiss, can be found.
This is called the Alpine Zone.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 metres, forests of fir
trees and spruce trees can be found. This is
called the Subalpine Zone.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 metres is the
Arable Zone. Millions of oak trees grow here
and lots of farms can be found.
Below 1,000 metres are the Lowlands. People
and animals live here.