Alpine foothills

Kolomansberg, Salzkammergut Mountains, Austria

The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (German: Voralpen; French: Préalpes; Italian: Prealpi; Slovene: Predalpe) can refer generally to any foothills at the base of the European Alps. They are the transition zone between the High Alps to the Swiss Plateau and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland in the north, as well as to the Pannonian Basin (Alpokalja) in the east, the Padan Plain in the south and the Rhone Valley in the west.

Classification

The Alpine foothills comprise:

• The French Prealps
  • Savoy Prealps
  • Dauphiné Prealps
  • Provence Prealps
• The Swiss Prealps
• The Northern Prealps, part of the Northern Limestone Alps:
  • Bavarian Prealps in southeastern Germany
  • Salzburg Prealps, part of the Salzkammergut Mountains in Austria
  • Upper Austrian Prealps
  • Lower Austrian Prealps, leading to the Vienna Woods
• The Southeastern Prealps, borderline of the Alps to the Pannonian Basin in Austria and Slovenia:
  • Prealps East of the Mur
  • Lavanttal Alps
  • Styrian Prealps
  • Slovenian Prealps, Pohorje
• The Southern or Italian Prealps, usually divided into:
  • Julian Prealps
  • Venetian Prealps
  • Bergamasque Prealps
  • Lugano Prealps
  • Brescia and Garda Prealps^[1]

Footnotes

1. From the geological point of view also the Alpi Cusiane and a small part of the Biellese Alps ranges of the Pennine Alps are considered prealps

See also

• The Operation Zone of the Alpine Foothills, a territory in Italy occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II