APENNINE RANGE

The Apennines mountain range. also called The Apennines, Italian Appennino, series of mountain ranges bordered by narrow coastlands that form the physical backbone of peninsular Italy and have had considerable influence on the human geography of that nation. From Cadibona Pass in the northwest, close to the Maritime Alps, they form a great arc, which extends as far as the Egadi Islands to the west of Sicily. Their total length is approximately 870 miles (1,400 kilometres), and their width ranges from 25 to 125 miles. Mount Corno, 9,554 feet (2,912 metres), is the highest point of the Apennines proper on the peninsula. The range follows a northwestsoutheast orientation as far as Calabria, at the southern tip of Italy; the regional trend then changes direction, first toward the south and finally westward. The Apennines are among the younger ranges of the Alpine system and, geologically speaking, are related to the coastal range of the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. Similarities have also been observed with the Dinaric Alps, which extend through the Balkan region, including Greece. Nearby Sardinia and Corsica, on the other hand, are dissimilar to the Apennines, their granitic rock masses being linked to outcroppings along the Spanish and French coast, from which they parted some 20 million years ago. also called The Apennines, Italian Appennino, arc of mountains forming the backbone of peninsular Italy that have had considerable influence on the human geography of the nation. The Apennines stretch from the Cadibona Pass, close to the maritime Alps in the northwest, as far as the Egadi Islands to the west of Sicily, although the Apennines proper extend only to Calabria, at the southern tip of Italy. Their total length is approximately 870 miles (1,400 km), and their width ranges from 25 to 125 miles (40 to 200 km). Mount Corno at 9,554 feet (2,912 m) is the highest point. The range follows a northwest to southeast orientation as far as Calabria; the regional trend then changes direction in Sicily, first toward the south and then westward. The Apennines are among the younger ranges of the Alpine system and are related geologically to the coastal range of the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. Geographically, the Apennines differ strikingly from the Alps. They have lower elevations and lack glaciers, and the maritime influence on the valleys and exposed slopes is much greater. The geologic youth of the Apennines and a great variety of rock types are responsible for the rugged appearance of the range. Rock types include sandstones, marls, greenstones, and clays. Earthquakes are frequent, especially within the central and southern Apennines and Sicily, and are caused by structural settling of the young mountain chain, by movements along the abundant faults, and by volcanic activity. Additional reading Literature on the Apennines includes D. Postpischl (ed.), Catalogo dei terremoti italiani dall'anno 1000 al 1980 (1985), a scientific catalog of earthquakes, with an extended abstract in English that provides information on geologic characteristics of the range; Calvino Gasparini, Enrico Giorgetti, and Maurizio Parotto, Il terremoto in Italia: cause, salvaguardia, interventi (1984), a study of the seismic hazards in the region and of protective measures against them; Sandro Pignatti, Flora d'Italia, 3 vol. (1982), a discussion of the major plants of the area; J.M. Scott, A Walk Along the Apennines (1973), which offers a description of views and localities; and Roland Sarti, Long Live the Strong: A History of Rural Society in the Apennine Mountains (1985). Works that contain detailed geologic information on the Apennines include L. Ogniben, M. Parotto, and A. Praturlon (eds.), Structural Model of Italy: Maps and Explanatory Notes (1975); and Cento anni di geologia italiana (1981), a centennial publication of the Italian Geological Society. Maurizio Parotto