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Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. |
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Eons in the making, the great mountains of Europe were raised by a series of complex and powerful tectonic movements. These have resulted in a diversity of mountain landscapes that shelter a wealth of natural treasures and nurture rich cultures. The special joys of the mountains are available not only to mountaineers, but to anyone—stroller, walker, or hiker—willing to lace up a pair of hiking boots and follow a winding path. Mountain glories await you! Come share them with us! |
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The Alps are the backbone of Europe and its principal and best-known mountain range. No peak in the Alps stands higher than Mont Blanc whose summit brushes the heavens at 15,772 feet. Thrust upward as result of a series of collisions between African and European plates, the Alps continue to grow today. They fan out in a great 750 mile-long arc around Italy's Po River basin encompassing a multitude of ranges, each with its own character—from the Maritime Alps on the French-Italian border, to the rugged grandeur of Switzerland's glacier-draped Berner Oberland, to the distinctive limestone spires and pinnacles of the Italian Dolomites. The range is named after the high mountain pastures known as alp in German. In turn, the range has lent its name to the adjective "alpine"—the general term used to describe high mountain environments anywhere in the world. | |
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Formed during the closure of an ancient sea, the Carpathian Mountains are essentially a continuation of the Alps although they are, in general, not as high or rugged. The great Danube River which drains much of central Europe separates the Alps from the Carpathians. The Carpathians run eastward for 900 miles along the Polish-Slovak border continuing into Ukraine and Romania where they abruptly hook back toward the west as the Carpatii Meridionali, or Transylvanian Alps. The High Tatras on the Polish-Slovak border constitute the highest and most rugged portion of the Carpathians. The highest point in the Carpathians, Gerlachovský Stít, scrapes the Tatra sky at 8,711 feet. | |
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The Carpathian Mountains meet the Rhodope Mountains at a place called the Iron Gates of Orsova. Here, the Danube River cuts through the mountain barrier before making its final run to the Black Sea. The Rhodopes, an extension of the Carpathians, swing southward and then eastward along Bulgaria's border with Greece. They are part of the great mountainous uplift that covers much of the Balkan Peninsula. The Rila and Pirin ranges contain the Rhodope's most impressive high mountain landscapes, reminiscent of the Sierra Nevada or the Wallowas of northeastern Oregon. Musala in the Rila range rises above conifer-clad foothills to the roof of the Rhodopes at 9,597 feet. Large portions of the Rila and Pirin ranges are protected in national parks. The Pirin National Park is a World Heritage Site containing the Baevi Doupki-Djindjiritza Biosphere Reserve. | |
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The rocky range known as Kjølen ("the keel") forms the spine of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Part of the Caledonian Mountain Group (which includes the Scottish Highlands), Kjølen includes the mountainous uplift known as Langfjellene ("Long Mountains"). Norway's spectacular glacier-carved fjords (including the Sognefjord—one of the world's longest) slice deeply into the Langfjellene to create the filigreed coastline of western Norway. The peak of Galdhopiggen (8,100 feet) in the Jotunheimen range of the Langfjellene is the crown of northern Europe. | |
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Stretching about 270 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, the Pyrenees form a natural barrier between France and Spain. The central portion of the range is wild and rugged with grand glacial cirques and high lake basins on the French side. In Spain, Monte Perdido, the highest limestone peak in Europe, soars to 11,008 feet, and the spectacular limestone canyon of Ordesa slices into the heart of the mountains. A significant portion of the central Pyrenees has been recognized as a World Heritage Site. Further east, Spain's Pico de Aneto reaches a Pyrenees high point at 11,168 feet. | |
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The Cantabrian Mountains (the Cordillera Cantabrica) stretch for 300 miles along the northern coast of Spain. At their eastern end they merge gracefully with the Pyrenees. The most spectacular portion of the Cantabrians is the group of bulky limestone peaks known as the Picos de Europa much of which is protected in the newly expanded Picos de Europa National Park. The Torre de Cerredo in the Urrieles massif of the Picos de Europa is the highest point in the Cantabrian Range at 8,688 feet. | |
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The Azores along with the Madeira, Canary and Cabo Verde Islands are volcanic archipelagos that comprise the island region known as Macaronesia ("blessed islands"). The islands are the highest summits of great submarine mountain ranges that include the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the world's longest mountain range. Broad calderas, cone-shaped volcanoes, and plunging sea cliffs are typical of the Macaronesian landscape. Madeira belong to Portugal; in fact the highest mountain in Portugal is the Azorean stratovolcano, Pico (7,714 feet). These subtropical islands boast a wealth of endemic plant species as well as remnants of a forest type that covered much of southern Europe in the Tertiary age. | |
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Softly Adventures, Inc., PO Box 86250, Portland, OR 97286 |
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