Zusammenfassung der Ressource
THE ALPS - Fold Mountains
- Formation
- The Alps were formed
about 30 million years
ago by the collision of
the African and
European Plates
- Tallest Peak
- Mont Blanc at 4810m
on the French-Italian
Border
- Population
- Around 12 million people
- Why People use the Alps
- Farming
- Steep upland areas
are used for farming
goats which produce
milk, cheese and
meat.
- Sunnier
areas have
vineyards
(e.g. Lavaux,
Switzerland)
- Tourism
- 100 million tourist
visit the alps every
year.
- Important
for
environment.
- 70% of tourists
visit ski slopes
in winter.
- Summer tourists
come for walking,
mountain biking,
climbing and
paragliding.
- New villages
have been built
to cater for
large numbers
of tourists (e.g.
Tignes, France)
- Ski runs, ski lifts,
cable cars, holiday
chalets and
restaurants pepper
the landscape.
- Mining
- Salt, iron ore, gold, silver and
copper were mined in the Alps but
the industry has declined due to
cheaper foreign sources
- Hydro-Electric Power
- The narrow valleys are dammed to generate HEP, e.g. in
the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland 60 % of it electricity
comes from HEP stations in the Alps.
- The electricity
produced is used locally
to power homes and
businesses. It can also
be exported to town
and cities further away.
- Forestry
- Scots Pine has
been planted all
over the alps
because it's more
resilient to
animals which
often destroy
native plants and
trees.
- It's logged and sold to make things like furniture.
- How people have adapted
- Steep Relief
- Goats are farmed
because they're well
adapted to live on
steep mountains.
- Poor Soils
- Animals are grazed
in most high areas as
the soil isn't good
enough for growing
crops.
- Limited Communications
- Roads have been built
over passes e.g. The
Brenner Pass between
Austria and Italy.
- It takes a long time to drive
over these passes and they are
often blocked by snow, so
tunnels have been cut through
the mountains to provide fast
transport links.