Peak Altemberg Region Piedmont Parent range Pennine Alps Elevation 2,394 m | Country Italy Settlement Omegna, Stresa, Arona Orogeny Alpine orogeny | |
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Districts Province of Novara, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Province of Vercelli Similar Monte Leone, Weissmies, Mottarone, Grand Combin, Monte Rosa (Dufourspitze) | ||
The Alpi Cusiane (or Prealpi Cusiane) are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located in Piemonte (Italy).
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EtymologyEdit
Alpi Cusiane literally means Alps of Cusio; Cusio is the geographical and historical area surrounding Lake of Orta, nowadays part of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
GeographyEdit
Administratively the westernmost part of the range belongs to the province of Vercelli, the southern part to province of Novara and the eastern and central ones to province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
BordersEdit
Borders of the Alpi Cusiane are (clockwise):
SOIUSA classificationEdit
According to SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain range is an Alpine supergroup classified in the following way:
SubdivisionEdit
The Alpi Cusiane are divided into two Alpine groups, none of them further subdivided in subgroups (in brackets is reported their SOIUSA code):
These two groups are connected by a low saddle not faraway from Gozzano.
GeologyEdit
From the geological point of view the Alpi Cusiane are considered part of the Prealpine zone, divided from the crystalline zone of the Alps by the Insubric line. This important geologic fault forms the border between the Adriatic plate and the European plate. Hills and mountains located south-east of the line, like the Alpi Cusiane, can be considered part of southern Apulian foreland.
Winter sportsEdit
In the Alpi Cusiane is located the ski resort of Mottarone, with 21 km of downhill skiing slopes; it's connected with Stresa by a cableway.