Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/618

 582 APENNINES the point of division between them and the Alps is differently assumed by different geog- raphers. They run N. E. as far as the pass of the Bocchetta, N. of Genoa, and then b. L., following the trend of the coast, and joining the Tuscan Apennines a short distance S. of Monte Pellegrino. Their entire length is about 130 m. The breadth of the chain varies great- ly in the north its spurs extend nearly to the Pol West of the Bocchetta pass the summits are low, seldom rising more than 2,000 ft. ; but beyond this to the eastward the height of the range increases. Its principal peaks, all between 5,000 and 6,000 ft. high, are Monte Antola, N. E. of Genoa; Monte Penna, near Chiavari; Monte Gottaro, W. of Pontremoli ; and Monte Pt-llegrino, N. of Castelnuovo. Several important roads cross the chain ; one (with a railway), at the pass of the Bocchetta, is the means of communication between Genoa and the towns N. of the mountains ; a second, from Parma to Pon- tremoli, crosses by the pass of La Cisa ; another, at the western extremity of the range, leads from Millesimo to Savona ; while smaller pass- es are found at different points. The pass of the Bocchetta is famed for the grandeur of its scenery ; and the whole aspect of the Ligurian Apennines is more picturesque than that of any other portion of the great chain. 2. The Tus- can Apennines begin with Monte Cimone, and, extending S. E. for about 80 m., end with the Alpe della Luna, near the pass through which runs the road from the valley of the Tiber to Urbino. Monte Cimone (6,973 feet) is the highest peak. To this portion of the chain belong, besides some less important detached groups, the Alpi Appuane, which rise to a height of 5,800 ft. (the Pizzo d'Ucello being their highest summit), run nearly parallel with the main range, and extend to the valley of the Arno. In these mountains is found the cele- brated marble of Carrara ; the principal quar- ries are in the sides of Monte Sairo, near the town of Carrara. 3. The Roman or Cen- tral Apennines extend S. E. a distance of about 150 m., and include, especially in that portion best known as the mountains of the Abruzzi, all the highest peaks of the whole range. Here lies the great group of the Gran Sasso d'ltalia, whose summit, Monte Corno, or Monte Ca- vallo, is the highest point of the Apennines, 9,542 ft. above the sea. The range is broader here than at any other point; the mountain groups of the Abruzzi form a large 1 square, and throw out spurs in all directions. The lake of Celano lies among the southern mountains of this chain, at an elevation of nearly 2,200 ft. The Roman Apennines are traversed by many passes, and surround fertile upland valleys and elevated plains. Besides Monte Corno, the principal peaks are Monte Amaro, in the de- tached group of the Majella, which rises to the height of nearly 9,000 ft. ; Monte Vellino, 8,183 ft. ; Monte Vittore, 7,398 ft. ; Monte Sibilla, 7,212 ft. ; and II TerminUlo Grande, 7,034 ft. 4. The Neapolitan Apennines begin near the southern limits of the Abruzzi, and extend in a broad chain, with many considerable off- shoots, to Monte Volture, near which they begin to divide into two branches. One of these runs S. E. as far as the gulf of Taranto. Beyond the river Ofanto it dwindles to a range of low hills, and finally almost disappears in. the district of Otranto. The other branch takes a southerly direction, to the pass of La- gonegro. To the eastward of the Neapolitan range, but so widely separated from it as to properly form a distinct ridge, lies Monte Gar- gano (5,450 ft.), extending into the Adriatic, and forming the rugged promontory N. of the gulf of Manfredonia. The highest peak of the chain is Monte Miletto, 6,744 ft. ; but the aver- age height of this division is less than that of the others. 5. The Calabrian Apennines, be- ginning at the pass of Lagonegro, fill the penin- sula of Calabria, and terminate in the moun- tain promontory of Aspromonte, the highest summit of which rises 4,500 ft. above the sea. A singular and almost complete break is made in them by a deep valley, which runs from the gulf of Santa Eufemia to the gulf of Squillace, and divides the chain into two distinct groups. The Calabrian Apennines have no very lofty or noteworthy peaks, but their scenery is rugged and picturesque. They are granitic, and differ in their geological features so entirely from the rest of the Italian chain that most geographers, while applying the name Apennines to them in compliance with general usage, really class them as a separate system. West of the Apen- nines, and tilling much of the country between them and the Mediterranean, lies a separate system of lower mountains, different from them both in appearance and geological formation. These are called the Sub-Apennines. They in- clude many mountains of volcanic origin, and are the result, according to the best authori- ties, of a much later convulsion than that which undoubtedly threw up the more massive pile of the main range. 1. The Tuscan Sub-Apen- nines occupy the space between the Arno and the Tiber, reaching their greatest height in the 5. E. part of this tract. They surround a great part of the plain of the Arno. Among their best known groups are the Ciminian hills. 2. The Roman Sub-Apennines are almost all of volcanic origin ; they extend from the Tiber, and surround the principal part of the Cam- pagna di Roma. The Alban hills are a part of this division, which, running southward along the coast, ends at the promontory of Gaeta. 3. The Neapolitan Sub-Apennines include in their southern portion the volcanic group of which Mt. Vesuvius is the great centre, and extend to the Punta della Campanella. The mountains of Sicily undoubtedly form, with few exceptions, a part of the system of the Apennines. (See SICILY.) Limestone, chalk, and sandstone are the basis of the northern portion of the Apennines, and of most parts of the main chain through the entire peninsula;