skyrme17 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 3:23 pm
The Alps may cover a large area, but I'm not sure if they cover a larger area at comparable elevation. The high elevation Alps are concentrated in/around Switzerland and the borders with France and Italy. Switzerland has an area of 15,940 sq miles, compared to Colorado which is 104,000 sq miles (yes Colorado is no all 14ers, but still a good point of comparison).
I don't know how much there is to add to this conversation, but to state the obvious: The Alps are are not a small mountain range!
Yes, as continental collision mountain ranges (i.e., convergent boundary orogenies) go, the Alps are a small, relatively compact range. The Himalayan-Hindu Kush ranges dwarf it in size.
But when comparing the Alps to the Colorado Rockies, there are some very obvious differences between the two:
- To start, the Alps form a very high and deeply dissected barrier between Italy and France/Germany. This is a vast area that would stretch continuously over Utah and Colorado with a depth greater than the San Juans. (Compare the maps below)
- The relief also feels much more dramatic in the Alps than most of the Colorado ranges, with its steeper slopes and jagged peaks that really catch the eye. This exaggerated relief probably has to do with (a) high rates of mountain uplift and (b) a much lower elevation "floor" on both sides of the range. For example, did you know that Geneva is only at 1300ft elevation, but Mont Blanc reaches 15,774ft and is only 45 miles away?! On the other hand, all of Colorado has been regionally uplifted in the last several million years, so one finds a multitude of high elevation peaks but only moderate-to-decent prominence (Buena Vista 8000ft and Mt Yale 14,199ft separated by 10 miles). Total 14er counts go to Colorado (58!) vs. the Alps (9, including two 15ers).
- Finally, the Alps don't have the intermontane basins that you find in Colorado (e.g., South Park) that break up the mountains into distinct ranges. The Alps feel like a contiguous block of rugged peaks that are separated only by deeply dissecting glacial valleys that overlie larger scale strike-slip transform faults that cut across the range.
Of the US ranges that feel most similar to the Alps, I would have to point to the North Cascades. That range had a similar ruggedness and exaggerated landscape, as well as a depth that felt impenetrable. North Cascades also have much less infrastructure than Austria/Switzerland or Colorado, which makes it feel much more wild.
Regardless, this isn't a measuring contest. The Alps and the Colorado Rockies are both near and dear to my heart and I would heartily recommend spending time in both. The beer isn't too bad, either.