July 3, 2018
Mountaintops get less lonely for alpine plants
It takes a hardy plant to live on top of a mountain, but new research shows that summits in the Alps are hosting more species of plants than ever …
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Alps
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8 articles · Page 1 of 1
July 18, 2017
Travels in Geology: Austria's Salzkammergut: World heritage preserved in salt
In Austria’s famous salt district, the Salzkammergut, the long arc of European history, so palpable to North American visitors wherever they …
August 23, 2016
Benchmarks: February 23 – 24, 1999: Alpine Avalanches sweep through Austrian towns, killing dozens
For skiers, snowboarders and other high-elevation winter adventurers, avalanches pose an ever-present, if difficult-to-anticipate, risk. But …
July 13, 2016
Travels in Geology: Zermatt: Europe meets Africa in Switzerland's iconic Alps
Zermatt, Switzerland, is one of Europe’s premier tourist destinations, offering spectacular sightseeing, hiking and mountain climbing, as well as …
July 6, 2016
On the trail of Hannibal's army - and elephants - in the Alps
In the third century B.C., during the Second Punic War between the Romans and Carthaginians, Carthaginian general Hannibal led a massive army …
January 7, 2016
How deep do the Alps go?
Continental crust was long thought to be too buoyant to subduct into the mantle, unlike denser oceanic crust, which descends into the mantle in …
September 4, 2015
Sculpting the Alps
Mountains typically get steeper the higher you climb. The European Alps are an exception: Beginning at altitudes between about 1,500 and 2,000 …
January 5, 2012
On Hannibal's Trail: The clues are in the geology
Standing at the summit of one of the Alps’ tallest mountain passes in the fall of 218 B.C., Hannibal peered into enemy territory: Italy’s Po …