The international geography . d Eastern Alps, is so well marked and for the most partso convenient that it has formed from the earliest times an importanthighway both for commerce and for war. The pass itself is low(only 4,470 feet), and if the Inn valley is made use of downwards noother pass has to be crossed in the whole breadth of the mountain sys-tem. From the remains found on this route we know that it wasmade use of in prehistoric times by the Etruscans. It was one of thefirst of the Alpine passes to receive a Roman road. It was againand again followed by the Holy Roman emperors in their
The international geography . d Eastern Alps, is so well marked and for the most partso convenient that it has formed from the earliest times an importanthighway both for commerce and for war. The pass itself is low(only 4,470 feet), and if the Inn valley is made use of downwards noother pass has to be crossed in the whole breadth of the mountain sys-tem. From the remains found on this route we know that it wasmade use of in prehistoric times by the Etruscans. It was one of thefirst of the Alpine passes to receive a Roman road. It was againand again followed by the Holy Roman emperors in their expeditions fromRatisbon, due north of the outlet of the Inn on the Bavarian Plateau, toItaly. It was the first of the Alpine passes to have a carriage-road in themodern style laid across it (1772) ; and the first to get a raihvay carriageover it (1867). The chief tunnel on this line is rather more than half amile long, and there are twenty-six shorter tunnels. Hydrography.—Besides being a centre of radiation for important. Fig. 51.—The Alps ami their chief Passes. 128 The International Geography streams, the Alps form one of the principal lake-regions of Europe. Thelakes, many of which are celebrated for the beauty of their surroundings,mostly lie on the outer margin of the system (Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo,Garda on the south ; Geneva, Zurich, Constance, Ammer, Wiirm, Chiem,Konig, Hallstatt, Wolfgang on the north); but others (Walenstadt, Lucerne,Brienz, Thun) lie nearer the heart of the system. Another important centre of radiation for rivers is the higher ground tothe south of St. Petersburg culminating in the Valdai Plateau. From thisarea issue the Volga and one or two of its chief tributaries, the Dniester,the Western Dvina and the Volkhov. To the north and west of this area,in Russia proper, Finland, and Scandinavia there is another region abound-ing in lakes of all sizes and shapes. Among these are the largest inEurope—Ladoga, 7,004 square miles, about one-tent
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectgeography, bookyear19
