Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/751

APENNINES. AP'ENNINES (Ital. Appennino; Lat. ilons Apouiiitus, Apennine Mount, from Cym. Celt. pen, hill, sun;niit, promontory). A mountain chain belonging to tlie system of the Alps and e.Ktending uninterruptedly throughout the whole length of the Italian peninsula. It liranehes out from the JIaritime Alps at the Col dl Tenda. near the sources of the Tanaro. From this i)oint the chain, under the name of the Ligurian Apen- nines, girdles the Gulf of Genoa in the imme- diate vicinity of the sea, and then runs slightly south of east inland almost across the peninsula at latitude 44°, and then southeastward, forming the %atershed between the Adriatic and tbe Med- iterranean, but gradually approaching the east- ern coast, till, in the highlands of the Abruzzi, it borders close upon it: after which it takes a more southerly direction, traversing Calabria, dips under the sea at the Strait of Messina, and reappears on the northern coast of Sicil.y. The total length is about 800 miles, and the breadth varies from 25 to 85 miles.

Geographers divide the Apennines as follows: { 1 ) The Xorth Apennines, from the Col di Ten- da, in the Maritime Alps, to the pass of Borgo San Sepolcro, in the neighborhood of Arezzo, on the eastern boi'der of Tuscany. ( 2 ) The Cen- tral Apennines, from Arezzo to the valley of the Pescara, which flows between the two Abruzzi. (3) The South Apennines, from the valley of the Pescara to Cape Spartivento. (4) The Insular Apennines, or the Sicilian Range. The leading feature of the Apennines, wherever they approach the coast, is their extraordinarily steep declivi- ties; while in Middle Italy and the adjoining portions of Upper and Lower Italy, long, terraced plateaus, lower ranges, and finally, relatively extensive coast plains mark their gradual de- scent on tlie west. The general name for these lower ranges is Sub-Apennine ; but they have a variety of specific designations, such as the moun- tains of Carrara and Seravezza, Protomagno, and Monte Amiata, in Tuscany; the Sabine, Alban, and Volscian mountains in the former Papal States; ilonte Gargano on the southeastern coast, north of Manfredonia, etc. The main chain of the Apennines does not send off spurs into the Apulian Peninsula or heel of Italy, which in the main is rather level, or only interspersed with detached groups of hills. The principal chain exhibits for the most part a drearj' and barren appearance, somewhat like a vast wall, with very few projecting peaks to break the dull monotony of the scene, and there- fore seldom furnishes any salient points on which the eye of the spectator can rest with pleasure. Naked, riven, covered with thick dC'bris, the de- clivities seem as if scorched by the southern sun. Only in the Abruzzi, in the Sub-Apennines, and especially in the marble-bearing mountains of Carrara and Seravezza do the bold and magnifi- cent forms of the Alps reappear.

The average height of the entire chain of the Apennines is about 4000 feet, -vhich, however, in the north sinks down to little more than 3500 feet, and in the mountains of the Abruzzi rises to 7000 feet. Here, in Monte Corno, the highest peak of the range, forming part of the Gran Sasso d'ltalia, they reach an elevation of 9580 feet. The Xorth Apennines attain in Jlonte Ci- mone, situated in the Province of Jlodena, a height of 7103 feet. The highest peak of the South Apennines is Monte Polino, with an elevation of 7450 feet.

The Apennines are pierced by thirteen jjrin- cipal passes. These arc, proceeding from north to south : ( 1 ) the pass of Savona ; ( 2 ) of Boc- chetta; (3) ofCisa; (4) of jlonte Cimone; (5) of Poretta; (G) of Pictramala ; (7) of Borgo San Sepolcro; (8) of Furlo; (IJ) of Serravalle; (10) of Aquila; (11) of Isernia; (12) of Arcane and Troa; (13) of Potenza.

Geology. The prevalent rock is a species of compact limestone, of a whitish-gray color, be- longing to the Jura fornuition. Kesting on the limestone is found a more recent formation of sandstone and marl, which is especially abun- dant in the middle region of the Sub-Apennines, and which contains an extraordinary number of fossils of the Tertiary Age. Older" formations, however, frequently crop out. In the Abruzzian Apennines granite, gneiss, and schist are the prevailing rocks. On the watershed of the North and Central Apennines there are found Paleozoic clay-slate, graywackc-slate, etc. The Apennines, especially the Roman and Neapolitan, are dis- tinguished from all other mountain chains by the rich variety of marbles which they contain". In some places the quarries seem "inexhaustible. Igneous rocks are numerous in the middle and southern regions, where volcanic disturbances have produced many wonderful formations — as, for instance, the crater lakes of Albano, Nemi, Vesuvius, Solfatara.

The direction of the great chain of the Apen- nines is favorable to the formation on the west- ern side of important river basins, such as those of the Arno, the Tiber, the (Jarigliano, and the Volturno; while on the eastern side we find noth- ing but small streams, in most eases destitute of affluents, hurrying down to the sea through wild, precipitous valleys. In northern Italy, the Li- gurian Apennines, almost overhanging the Gulf of Genoa, develop on the southern slopes only ))uny streams, while their northern slopes send down, tnrough the plains of Piedmont, large tributaries to the Po.

Flora. Where the Apennines, in general so poorly supplied with permanent streams, ex- hibit a trace of Alpine abundance of water, there is no lack of rich pastures and dense for- ests; but usually only thin grass and wild, scrubby bushes cover the stony slopes. The greater number of the roaring forest brooks in the deep, rocky ravines display during the sum- mer only dry beds. Where t'lic mountains dip down to the sea, as at the Riviera of Genoa and the Gulf of Naples, a rich, distinctively southern vegetation clothes the declivities. Gigantic agaves, Indian figs, myrtle bushes, orange groves, suggest in these northern lands the splen- dors of the tropics. The altitudinal vegetation zones are characterized as follows: Vine and olive up to 1300 feet; chestnut and oaks from 1300 to 3300 feet; pines from 3300 to 5200 feet; shrubs and grasses above 5200 feet, succeeded above by naked rocks. APENRADE, a'pen-rii'dc. A town in the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. It is situated at the head of a bay of the same name, opening into the Baltic Sea, has an e.xcellent harbor, and a considerable amount of shipping (Map: Prussia, CI). Population, in 1895, 5504; in 1900, 6616. The environs of the town are beautiful. The first historical mention made of Apenrade relates to its destruction by the Slavs in 1148; and, indeed, its position has always laid it