document_title: Mamma Mia! (film)

question_text: what are the 3 fathers names in mamma mia

root

text: Mamma Mia! (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: On the Greek island of Kalokairi, 20-year-old bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan reveals to her bridesmaids, Ali and Lisa, that she has secretly invited three men to her wedding without telling her mother, Donna. They are the men that her mother's diary reveals could have been her father: Irish-American architect Sam Carmichael, Swedish adventurer and writer Bill Anderson, and British banker Harry Bright. She dreams of being given away by her father at her wedding, and believes that after she spends time with them she will know which is her father.

tag: p

text: Sophie's mother Donna, who owns a villa and runs it not very successfully as a hotel, is ecstatic to reunite with her former Dynamos bandmates, wisecracking author Rosie Mulligan and wealthy multiple divorcée Tanya Chesham-Leigh, and reveals her bafflement at her daughter's desire to get married. Donna shows off the villa to Rosie and Tanya. The three men arrive and Sophie smuggles them to their room. She doesn't reveal that she believes one of them is her father, but does explain that she and not her mother sent the invitations. She begs them to hide so Donna will be surprised by the old friends of whom she "so often" favorably speaks. They overhear Donna working and swear not to reveal Sophie's secret.

text: Donna spies them and is dumbfounded to find herself facing former lovers, demanding they leave. She confides in Tanya and Rosie that she truly does not know which of the three fathered Sophie. Tanya and Rosie rally her spirits by getting her to dance with an all female ensemble of staff and islanders. Sophie finds the men aboard Bill's yacht, and they sail around Kalokairi, telling stories of Donna's carefree youth. Sophie plans to tell her fiancé Sky about her ploy, but loses her nerve. Sky and Sophie sing to each other, but Sky is abducted for his bachelor party.

text: At Sophie's bachelorette party, Donna, Tanya, and Rosie perform. When Sam, Bill, and Harry arrive, Sophie decides to talk with each of them alone. While her girlfriends dance with the men, Sophie learns from Bill that Donna received the money for her villa from his great-aunt Sofia. Sophie guesses she must be Sofia's namesake. She asks him to give her away and keep their secret until the wedding. Sophie's happiness is short-lived as Sam and Harry each pull her aside to tell her they are her father and will give her away. Sophie, overwhelmed by the consequences of raising the hopes of all three "fathers", faints.

text: In the morning, Rosie and Tanya assure Donna they will take care of the men. Bill and Harry intend to tell each other what they learned the previous night, but Rosie interrupts them. Donna confronts Sophie, believing Sophie wants the wedding stopped. Sophie says that all she wants is to avoid her mother's mistakes. Sam accosts Donna, concerned about Sophie getting married so young. Donna confronts him and they realize they still have feelings for each other. Tanya and young Pepper continue flirtations from the previous night. Sophie confesses to Sky and asks for his help. He reacts angrily to Sophie's deception and she turns to her mother for support. As Donna helps her daughter dress for the wedding, their rift is healed and Donna reminisces about Sophie's childhood. Donna admits her mother disowned her when she became pregnant. Sophie asks Donna to give her away. As the bridal party walks to the chapel, Sam intercepts Donna, who reveals the pain she felt over losing him.

text: Sophie and Donna walk down the aisle as the band plays. Donna tells Sophie and all gathered that her father could be any of the three men. Sam reveals that while he left Donna to get married, he did not go through with it, but returned to find Donna with another man. The men do not want paternity confirmed, each agreeing to be one-third of a father for Sophie. She tells Sky they should postpone their wedding and travel the world. Sam proposes to Donna. She accepts and they are married. At the reception, Sam sings to Donna and Rosie makes a play for Bill. The couples proclaim their love. Sophie and Sky sail away.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan-Carmichael, Sophie's mother, owner of the hotel Villa Donna.
Amanda Seyfried  as Sophie Sheridan, Donna's 20-year-old daughter, Sky's fiancée.
Christine Baranski as Tanya Chesham-Leigh, Donna's other former bandmate; a rich three-time divorcee.
Julie Walters as Rosie Mulligan, one of Donna's former bandmates in Donna and the Dynamos; an unmarried fun-loving author.
Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael, Sophie's possible father and an architect.
Colin Firth as Harry Bright, Sophie's possible father and a British banker.
Stellan Skarsgård as Bill Anderson, Sophie's possible father, a Swedish sailor and travel writer.
Dominic Cooper as Sky, Sophie's fiancé who is designing a website for the hotel.
Niall Buggy as Father Alex, the wedding priest.
Chris Jarvis as Eddie, a friend of Sky and Pepper.
Ashley Lilley as Ali, close friend of Sophie and her bridesmaid.
Rachel McDowall as Lisa, close friend of Sophie and her bridesmaid.
Philip Michael as Pepper, Sky's best man who likes Tanya; a bartender
Juan Pablo Di Pace as Petros
Enzo Squillino as Gregoris, one of Donna's employees.

tag: ul

text:
Benny Andersson as "Dancing Queen" piano player
Björn Ulvaeus as Greek god
Rita Wilson as Greek goddess

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text: A soundtrack album was released on July 7, 2008 by Decca and Polydor in the United States and internationally, respectively. The recording was produced by Benny Andersson. The album features sixteen musical numbers within the film, including a hidden track. The album was nominated at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The deluxe edition of the soundtrack album was released on November 25, 2008.

text:
"I Have a Dream" – Sophie
"Honey, Honey" – Sophie, Ali and Lisa
"Money, Money, Money" – Donna, Tanya and Rosie
"Mamma Mia" – Donna
"Chiquitita" – Rosie, Tanya and Donna†
"Dancing Queen" – Tanya, Rosie and Donna
"Our Last Summer" – Harry, Bill, Sam, Sophie and Donna
"Lay All Your Love on Me" – Sky and Sophie
"Super Trouper" – Donna, Tanya and Rosie
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – Sophie, Ali and Lisa
"Voulez-Vous" – Donna, Sam, Tanya, Rosie, Harry, Bill, Sky, Ali, Lisa and Pepper
"The Name of the Game" – Sophie‡
"SOS" – Sam and Donna
"Does Your Mother Know" – Tanya and Pepper
"Slipping Through My Fingers" – Donna and Sophie
"The Winner Takes It All" – Donna
"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" – Sam and Donna†
"When All Is Said and Done"  – Sam and Donna
"Take a Chance on Me" – Rosie, Bill, Tanya, Pepper and Harry
"Waterloo" – Donna, Rosie, Tanya, Sam, Bill, Harry, Sky and Sophie†
"Thank You for the Music" – Sophie§

tag: ol

text:
† Featured in the film, but omitted from the soundtrack album.
‡ Included in the soundtrack album, but omitted from the film.
§ Included on the soundtrack album as a hidden track.

text: Production[edit]

text: Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed on location at the small Greek island of Skopelos (during August 29-September 2007),[3] and the seaside hamlet of Damouchari in the Pelion area of Greece. On Skopelos, Kastani beach on the south west coast was the film's main location site.[3] The producers built a beach bar and jetty along the beach, but removed both set pieces after production wrapped.[3] A complete set for Donna's Greek villa was built at the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios and most of the film was shot there. Real trees were utilised for the set, watered daily through an automated watering system and given access to daylight in order to keep them growing.

text: The part of the film where Brosnan's character, Sam, leaves his New York office to go to the Greek Island was actually filmed at the Lloyd's Building on Lime Street in the City of London. He dashes down the escalators and through the porte-cochere, where yellow cabs and actors representing New York mounted police were used for authenticity.[4]

text: The Fernando, Bill Anderson's yacht (actually a ketch) in the film was the Tai-Mo-Shan built in 1934 by H. S. Rouse at the Hong Kong and Whampoa dockyards.[5][6]

text: Meryl Streep took opera singing lessons as a child, and as an adult, she previously sang in several films, including Postcards from the Edge, Silkwood, Death Becomes Her, and A Prairie Home Companion.[7] She was a fan of the stage show Mamma Mia! after seeing it on Broadway in September 2001, when she found the show to be an affirmation of life in the midst of the destruction of 9/11.[8]

text: Release[edit]

text: Though the world premiere of the film occurred elsewhere, most of the media attention was focused on the Swedish premiere, where Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog joined Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with the cast at the Rival Theatre in Mariatorget, Stockholm, owned by Andersson, on July 4, 2008. It was the first time all four members of ABBA had been photographed together since 1986.[9]

text: Home media[edit]

text: In November 2008, Mamma Mia! became the fastest-selling DVD of all time in the UK, according to Official UK Charts Company figures. It sold 1,669,084 copies on its first day of release, breaking the previous record (held by Titanic) by 560,000 copies. By the end of 2008, the Official UK Charts Company declared that it had become the biggest selling DVD ever in the UK, with one in every four households owning a copy (over 5 million copies sold).[10] The record was previously held by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with sales of 4.7 million copies.

text: In the United States, the DVD made over $30 million on its first day of release.[11] By December 31, 2008, Mamma Mia! became the best-selling DVD of all time in Sweden with 545,000 copies sold.[12]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: In the United Kingdom, Mamma Mia! has grossed £69.2 million as of January 23, 2009, and is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time at the UK box office.[13] The film opened at #1 in the U.K, taking £6.6 million on 496 screens. It managed to hold onto the top spot for 2 weeks, narrowly keeping Pixar's WALL-E from reaching #1 in its second week.[citation needed]

text: When released on July 3 in Greece, the film grossed $1.6 million in its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the Greek box office.[14]

text: Mamma Mia! grossed $144.1 million in the United States and $471.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $615.7 million, against a production budget of $52 million.[2] It became the highest grossing live-action musical of all time, until it was surpassed by Bill Condon's Beauty and the Beast in 2017. It was also the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman, until it was surpassed by Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman in 2017.[15]  It is the third highest-grossing film of 2008 internationally (i.e., outside North America) with an international total of $458.4 million and the thirteenth highest gross of 2008 in North America (the US and Canada) with $144.1 million.

text: The film made $9.6 million in its opening day in the United States and Canada, and $27.6 million in its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office, behind The Dark Knight.[16] At the time, it made Mamma Mia! the record-holder for the highest grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a Broadway musical, surpassing Hairspray's box office record in 2007 and later surpassed by Into the Woods.[17]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 55% based on 181 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and a campy tone might not make you feel like 'You Can Dance' the whole 90 minutes."[18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[citation needed]

text: BBC Radio 5 Live's film critic Mark Kermode admitted to enjoying the film, despite describing the experience as 'the closest you get to see A-List actors doing drunken karaoke'.[20] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was more negative, giving it one star, and expressed a "need to vomit".[21] Bob Chipman of Escape to the Movies said it was "so base, so shallow and so hinged on meaningless spectacle, it's amazing it wasn't made for men".[22] The Daily Telegraph stated that it was enjoyable but poorly put together: "Finding the film a total shambles was sort of a shame, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll go to see it again anyway."[23] Angie Errigo of Empire said it was "cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers."[24]

text: The casting of actors not known for their singing abilities led to some mixed reviews. Variety stated that "some stars, especially the bouncy and rejuvenated Streep, seem better suited for musical comedy than others, including Brosnan and Skarsgård."[25] Brosnan, especially, was savaged by many critics: his singing was compared to "a water buffalo" (New York Magazine),[26] "a donkey braying" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)[27] and "a wounded raccoon" (The Miami Herald),[28] and Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing Charlotte said he "looks physically pained choking out the lyrics, as if he's being subjected to a prostate exam just outside of the camera's eye."[29]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Award

Date of ceremony

Category

Recipient(s) and nominee(s)

Result

Ref.

ACE Eddie Awards

February 15, 2009

Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical

Lesley Walker

Nominated

[30]

British Academy Film Awards

February 8, 2009

Outstanding British Film

Mamma Mia!

Nominated

[31]

Best Film Music

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus

Nominated

Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film

Judy Craymer

Nominated

Costume Designers Guild Awards

February 17, 2009

 Excellence in Contemporary Film

Ann Roth

Nominated

[32]

Empire Awards

March 29, 2009

Best Soundtrack

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus

Won

[33]

Golden Globe Awards

January 11, 2009

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Mamma Mia!

Nominated

[34]

Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

Meryl Streep

Nominated

Golden Raspberry Awards

February 21, 2009

Worst Supporting Actor

Pierce Brosnan

Won

[35]

Golden Reel Awards

February 21, 2009

Best Sound Editing – Music in a Musical Feature Film

Tony Lewis, Martin Lowe, Robert Houston

Won

[36]

Grammy Awards

February 8, 2009

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media

Various Artists

Nominated

[37]

Irish Film and Television Awards

February 14, 2009

Best International Actress

Meryl Streep

Won

[38]

MTV Movie Awards

May 31, 2009

Best Breakthrough Female Performance

Amanda Seyfried

Nominated

[39]

National Movie Awards

September 8, 2008

Best Musical[40]

Mamma Mia!

Won

[40]

Best Female Performance

Meryl Streep

Won

Best Male Performance

Pierce Brosnan

Nominated

Colin Firth

Nominated

People's Choice Awards

January 7, 2009

Favorite Movie Comedy

Mamma Mia!

Nominated

[41]

Favorite Cast

Mamma Mia!

Nominated

Favorite Song from a Soundtrack

"Mamma Mia"

Won

Rembrandt Awards

March 9, 2009

Best Female Actress

Meryl Streep

Won

[42]

Best International Actress

Won

Best International Film

Phyllida Lloyd

Won

Satellite Awards

December 14, 2008

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

Meryl Streep

Nominated

[43]

tag: table

text: Sequel[edit]

text:
Because of the film's financial success, Hollywood studio chief David Linde, the co-chairman of Universal Studios, said that it would take a while, but there would be a sequel. He stated that he would be delighted if Judy Craymer, Catherine Johnson, Phyllida Lloyd, Benny Andersson, and Björn Ulvaeus agreed to the project, noting that there were still plenty of ABBA songs to use.[44]
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was announced on May 19, 2017, with a planned release date of July 20, 2018.[45] It was written and directed by Ol Parker.[46] It was announced that Seyfried,[47] Cooper, Streep, Firth and Brosnan would be returning.[48] In July 2017, Lily James was confirmed to portray young Donna.[49]


document_title: Serratus anterior muscle

question_text: the boxer muscle is known in medical terms as

text: Serratus anterior muscle

text: Structure[edit]

text: Serratus anterior normally originates by nine or ten slips (muscle branches) from either the first to ninth ribs or the first to eighth ribs. Because two slips usually arise from the second rib, the number of slips is greater than the number of ribs from which they originate.[1]

text: The muscle is inserted along the medial border of the scapula between the superior and inferior angles along with being inserted along the thoracic vertebrae. The muscle is divided into three named parts depending on their points of insertions:[1]

text:
the serratus anterior superior is inserted near the superior angle
the serratus anterior intermediate is inserted along the medial border
the serratus anterior inferior is inserted near the inferior angle.

text: Relations[edit]

text: The serratus anterior lies deep to the subscapularis, from which it is separated by the subscapularis (supraserratus) bursa.[2] It is separated from the rib by the scapulothoracic (infraserratus) bursa.[3]

text: Nerve supply[edit]

text: The serratus anterior is innervated by the long thoracic nerve (Nerve of Bell), a branch of the brachial plexus. The long thoracic nerve travels inferiorly on the surface of the serratus. The nerve is especially vulnerable during certain types of surgery (for example, during lymph node clearance from the axilla (e.g., in case of axillary dissection in a surgery for breast cancer)). Damage to this nerve can lead to a winged scapula.

text: Function[edit]

text: All three parts described above pull the scapula forward around the thorax, which is essential for anteversion of the arm. As such, the muscle is an antagonist to the rhomboids. However, when the inferior and superior parts act together, they keep the scapula pressed against the thorax together with the rhomboids and therefore these parts also act as synergists to the rhomboids. The inferior part can pull the lower end of the scapula laterally and forward and thus rotates the scapula to make elevation of the arm possible. Additionally, all three parts can lift the ribs when the shoulder girdle is fixed, and thus assist in respiration.[1]

text: The serratus anterior is occasionally called the "big swing muscle" or "boxer's muscle" because it is largely responsible for the protraction of the scapula — that is, the pulling of the scapula forward and around the rib cage that occurs when someone throws a punch.

text: The serratus anterior also plays an important role in the upward rotation of the scapula, such as when lifting a weight overhead. It performs this in sync with the upper and lower fibers of the trapezius.[4]

text: Other animals[edit]

text: The muscles of the shoulder can be categorized into three topographic units: the scapulohumeral, axiohumeral, and axioscapular groups. Serratus anterior forms part of the latter group together with rhomboid major, rhomboid minor, levator scapulae, and trapezius. The trapezius evolved separately, but the other three muscles in this group evolved from the first eight or ten ribs and the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae (homologous to the ribs).[5]

text: Functional demands have resulted in the evolution of individual muscles from the basal unit formed by the serratus anterior. In primitive life forms, the main function of the axioscapular group is to control the movements of the vertebral border of the scapula: fibers concerned with the dorsal movement of scapula evolved into the rhomboids, those with ventral motion into serratus anterior, and those with cranial movements into levator scapulae. The evolution of the serratus anterior itself has resulted in (1) grouping of its distal and proximal fibers, (2) size reduction of its intermediate fibers, and (3) the insertion of its dominant superior and inferior parts onto the superior and inferior angles of the scapula.[5]

text: In primates, the thoracic cage is wide and the scapula is rotated onto its posterior side to have the glenoid cavity face laterally. Additionally, the clavicle takes care of medial forces. In cursorial mammals (for example the horse and other quadrupeds), the scapula is hanging vertically on the side of the thorax and the clavicle is absent. Therefore, in climbing animals, the serratus anterior supports the scapula against the reaction forces of the free limb and exerts high bending forces on the ribs. To sustain these forces, the ribs have a pronounced curvature and are supported by the clavicle. In cursorial animals, the thorax is hanging between the scapulae at the serratus anterior and pectoralis muscles.[6]

text: Additional images[edit]

text:
Position of Serratus anterior muscle. Shoulder blades are shown as semi-transparent.

Left scapula, costal surface. Attachment point for the SA is seen on the left border.

Serratus anterior muscle

The axillary artery and its branches. The SA is seen alongside the pec minor.

Nerves of the left upper extremity. The SA is seen to the left of the red line.

Serratus anterior muscle. Anterior thoracic wall. External abdominal oblique muscle. Deep dissection, anterior view.


document_title: Far from the Madding Crowd (2015 film)

question_text: who plays mr oak in far from the madding crowd

text: Far from the Madding Crowd (2015 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In 1870 Victorian England, Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is working on her aunt's farm in Dorset. Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a new neighbour, sees Bathsheba riding her horse and falls in love with her. He proposes, but the headstrong Bathsheba declines, saying she is too independent and he would grow to despise her. One night a new sheepdog chases Gabriel's entire flock off a cliff. He settles his debts and is left penniless. He leaves in search of work. In contrast, Bathsheba inherits a farm from her uncle and leaves to take charge of it.

text: While Gabriel is at a fair trying to find employment, local soldiers attempt to recruit him and other townsmen. A young girl, Fanny Robin, notices him and points out one of the soldiers, Sergeant Frank Troy, her sweetheart. She suggests Gabriel seek employment at a farm in Weatherbury. Gabriel arrives to find several buildings on fire and saves the barn from destruction. At dawn the next day he is introduced to the farm's new mistress: Bathsheba. She hires him as a shepherd. In the meantime, Fanny goes to the wrong church for her wedding and Troy, apparently jilted, is devastated.

text: In town, Bathsheba proves to be a shrewd trader when selling her seed. She immediately is drawn to her neighbour William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor. Bathsheba sends Boldwood a Valentine as a joke, and he, both offended and intrigued, soon proposes marriage. Bathsheba says she does share his feelings but delays giving him a final answer. Gabriel admonishes Bathsheba for being foolish and unkind by playing with Boldwood's affections. She is stung by his criticism, and fires him, but the next day, given a crisis with the sheep that only he can manage, she sends after him and then pursues him to ask him to return. After her personal appeal, he comes back, saves some of the sheep, and stays on the farm.

text: One night while walking around her land, Bathsheba meets Troy, who is mesmerized by her beauty. Uncomfortable, she tells him he should not be there, but the next day he returns to help with the harvest. Bathsheba learns he is of a noble family, but tells him to leave. He flirts with her and flatters her, and arranges a secret meeting. At their rendezvous in the woods, he shows off his swordplay, telling her not to flinch as he swings his sword around her head and body. He finally embraces her in a passionate kiss and Bathsheba is left in a daze. Gabriel warns her that Frank is dangerous and dishonourable, but she nevertheless elopes with him, and they share their wedding night together.

text: Returning to the farm, the newly married couple celebrate with all the workers. Gabriel warns of an approaching storm, but the belligerent and drunk Frank interrupts him and insists that the party will not allow it to rain. Gabriel attempts by himself to cover the harvest with tarpaulins and Bathsheba, ashamed of Frank's drunken behavior with the other men, comes out into the wind and rain to help. Chastened, she tells Gabriel that she was a fool to fall prey to Frank's flattery.

text: One day in town, Frank sees Fanny begging. She tells him she had gone to the wrong church, and that she is pregnant with his baby. He promises her he will find a home for them, and that she should stay in the workhouse in the meantime. Frank, a degenerate gambler, asks Bathsheba for £20 and she refuses, saying the money is for farm expenses. Fanny and her baby die in childbirth; their coffin is delivered to Bathsheba's farm, which was her last known address. Bathsheba recognizes the name as one of her uncle's loyal servants and says the coffin should be brought inside for mourning. The words "Fanny Robin and child" are written on the coffin, but Gabriel surreptitiously erases "and child" from the slate while bringing it in. Bathsheba reads the erasure, opens the coffin, and discovers the mother and baby within. Frank, upon seeing Fanny and his dead baby, bends over the coffin and kisses Fanny's lips. Bathsheba protests that she is still his wife, but he coldly responds that even in death Fanny means more to him than Bathsheba ever had meant or ever could mean. In grief Frank goes to the beach, where he strips off his uniform and swims far into the ocean. The next day the constable arrives to inform Bathsheba that Frank has apparently drowned.

text: Left with Frank's gambling debts, Bathsheba worries she may lose the farm. Boldwood offers to buy it and merge it with his property, offering Gabriel a position as bailiff, and again proposes marriage. Bathsheba agrees to consider his offer. On the eve of the Christmas party he plans to throw, Boldwood shares with Gabriel that he knows of the affection he feels for Bathsheba, but adds he appreciates that he has been such a gentleman in the entire matter, and shows Gabriel the engagement ring he plans to offer her.

text: At the party, Boldwood graciously invites Gabriel and Bathsheba to share at least one dance. As they dance, she again asks Gabriel what she should do, and he answers simply to "Do what is right". She breaks off the dance and leaves, only to discover Frank, alive and well, slumbering up the pathway, outside. He was rescued from drowning but has faked his death for some weeks, preferring the idea of being 'dead.' Regretting his decision, he has returned and demands money from Bathsheba, claiming it was unfair that he gave up his profession for her and now lives off nothing while she has money and a house. When she insists she has no money, Frank demands that she sell the farm and grabs her roughly, screaming that she is still his wife and must obey him. Enraged, Boldwood emerges from the house and kills Frank with a single blast from his rifle, for which he is promptly imprisoned. As Gabriel witnesses all the finery, many dresses and jewellery, that Boldwood had already laid out upstairs in anticipation of Bathsheba's 'yes' answer, Bathsheba is remorseful and guiltridden. Gabriel tells her that if it's any consolation Boldwood is bound to be spared his life, for acting in a 'crime of passion'.

text: Some time later, Gabriel announces that since the farm is now secure, he'll be emigrating to America in four days time. As he leaves on foot early in the morning, Bathsheba stays at the farm battling her feelings and stubbornness. Finally, she chases after him on horseback and begs him not to leave, thanking him for all he's done for her, and always believing in her. Gabriel tells her, if only she would accept his love, then asks her if she would agree were he to propose again. Bathsheba smiles and tells him he needs ask once more. Gabriel kisses her passionately in response, and they walk back hand in hand.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene
Matthias Schoenaerts as Gabriel Oak
Michael Sheen as William Boldwood
Tom Sturridge as Sergeant Frank Troy
Juno Temple as Fanny Robin
Jessica Barden as Liddy
Sam Phillips as Sergeant Doggett
Tilly Vosburgh as Mrs. Hurst
Rowan Hedley as Maryann Money
Chris Gallarus as Billy Smallbury
Connor Webb as Merchant
Penny-Jane Swift as Mrs. Coggan
Rosie Masson as Soberness Miller
Alex Channon as Temperance Miller
Shaun Ward as Farmer
Roderick Swift as Everdene farmer
Don J. Whistance as Constable
Jamie Lee-Hill as Laban Tall

text: Production[edit]

text: David Nicholls became attached to the film in 2008.[6] In April 2013, it was reported that Matthias Schoenaerts had been offered the role of Gabriel Oak alongside Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene.[7] Their casting was official in May 2013 with the participation of director Thomas Vinterberg.[8]

text: Principal photography started on 16 September 2013.[9] The film was shot in Dorset (Sherborne, Mapperton, and Beaminster),[10][11] Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London.[9]

text: Mulligan claimed, in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, that she hand-picked Schoenaerts to play Gabriel Oak after she saw him in the French film Rust and Bone.[12]

text: Thomas Vinterberg invented the scene in which Sergeant Troy clutches Bathsheba's crotch after the sword tricks because he wanted it to get more drastically sexual.[13] The British crew called it 'the Danish handshake'.[14] Vinterberg suggested that he would have gone much further if it had been a Danish film.[15]

text: Release[edit]

text: The film was released on 1 May 2015.[16][17]

text: The first teaser trailer debuted on 23 November 2014. It features the song "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" performed by Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen. A teaser poster was also revealed to mark the 140th anniversary of the novel of the same name.[18]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Far from the Madding Crowd grossed $12.2 million in North America and $17.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $30.2 million.[4]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Far from the Madding Crowd received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 86%, based on 166 reviews, with the site's critical consensus reading, "Far from the Madding Crowd invites tough comparisons to Thomas Hardy's classic novel – and its previous adaptation – but stands on its own thanks to strong direction and a talented cast."[19] Metacritic gave the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]

text: Carey Mulligan's performance was critically praised and some considered it better than the 1967 adaptation starring Julie Christie.[21][22] Rolling Stone's Peter Travers, in his three out of four star review, said "Vinterberg may rush the final act, but he brings out the wild side in Mulligan, who can hold a close-up like nobody's business. She's a live wire in a movie that knows how to stir up a classic for the here and now."[23]


document_title: Alps

question_text: where are the italian alps located in italy

question_tokens: where are the italian alps located in italy

text: Alps

text: Etymology and toponymy[edit]

text: The English word Alps derives from the Latin Alpes (through French). Maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary (A. X 13) that all high mountains are called Alpes by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from alp.

text: This may be consistent with the theory that in Greek Alpes is a name of non-Indo-European origin (which is common for prominent mountains and mountain ranges in the Mediterranean region). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Latin Alpes might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *alb "hill"; "Albania" is a related derivation. Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, "Albania" was a name for the eastern Caucasus, while in the English languages "Albania" (or "Albany") was occasionally used as a name for Scotland,[5] although many scholars[who?] point out this is more likely derived from the Latin albus, the color white.

text: In modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks.[6] An alp refers to a high mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found, and the term "the Alps", referring to the mountains, is a misnomer.[7][8] The term for the mountain peaks varies by nation and language: words such as Horn, Kogel, Kopf, Gipfel, Spitze, Stock, and Berg are used in German speaking regions; Mont, Pic, Tête, Pointe, Dent, Roche, and Aiguille in French speaking regions; and Monte, Picco, Corno, Punta, Pizzo, or Cima in Italian speaking regions.[9]

text: Geography[edit]

text: The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in a 800 km (500 mi) arc from east to west and is 200 km (120 mi) in width. The mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km (1.6 mi).[10] The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, and stretching eastward through mid and southern Switzerland. The range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia.[11][12][13] To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the southern border of Bavaria in Germany.[13] In areas like Chiasso, Switzerland, and Allgäu, Bavaria, the demarcation between the mountain range and the flatlands are clear; in other places such as Geneva, the demarcation is less clear. The countries with the greatest alpine territory are Switzerland, France (21.4%), Austria (28.7% of the total area) and Italy (27.2%).

text: The highest portion of the range is divided by the glacial trough of the Rhône valley, from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa on the southern side, and the Bernese Alps on the northern. The peaks in the easterly portion of the range, in Austria and Slovenia, are smaller than those in the central and western portions.[13]

text: The variances in nomenclature in the region spanned by the Alps makes classification of the mountains and subregions difficult, but a general classification is that of the Eastern Alps and Western Alps with the divide between the two occurring in eastern Switzerland according to geologist Stefan Schmid,[6] near the Splügen Pass.

text: The highest peaks of the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, respectively, are Mont Blanc, at 4,810 m (15,780 ft)[14] and Piz Bernina at 4,049 metres (13,284 ft). The second-highest major peaks are Monte Rosa at 4,634 m (15,200 ft) and Ortler[15] at 3,905 m (12,810 ft), respectively

text: Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chain of the Alps, including the French Prealps in France and the Jura Mountains in Switzerland and France. The secondary chain of the Alps follows the watershed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Wienerwald, passing over many of the highest and most well-known peaks in the Alps. From the Colle di Cadibona to Col de Tende it runs westwards, before turning to the northwest and then, near the Colle della Maddalena, to the north. Upon reaching the Swiss border, the line of the main chain heads approximately east-northeast, a heading it follows until its end near Vienna.[citation needed]

text: Passes[edit]

text: The Alps have been crossed for war and commerce, and by pilgrims, students and tourists. Crossing routes by road, train or foot are known as passes, and usually consist of depressions in the mountains in which a valley leads from the plains and hilly pre-mountainous zones.[16] In the medieval period hospices were established by religious orders at the summits of many of the main passes.[8] The most important passes are the Col de l'Iseran (the highest), the Brenner Pass, the Mont-Cenis, the Great St. Bernard Pass, the Col de Tende, the Gotthard Pass, the Semmering Pass, the Simplon Pass, and the Stelvio Pass.[17] Crossing the Italian-Austrian border, the Brenner Pass separates the Ötztal Alps and Zillertal Alps and has been in use as a trading route since the 14th century. The lowest of the Alpine passes at 985 m (3,232 ft), the Semmering crosses from Lower Austria to Styria; since the 12th century when a hospice was built there it has seen continuous use. A railroad with a tunnel 1 mile (1.6 km) long was built along the route of the pass in the mid-19th century. With a summit of 2,469 m (8,100 ft), the Great St. Bernard Pass is one of the highest in the Alps, crossing the Italian-Swiss border east of the Pennine Alps along the flanks of Mont Blanc. The pass was used by Napoleon Bonaparte to cross 40,000 troops in 1800.

text: The Mont Cenis pass has been a major commercial and military road between Western Europe and Italy. The pass was crossed by many troops on their way to the Italian peninsula. From Constantine I, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne to Henry IV, Napoléon and more recently the German Gebirgsjägers during World War II. Now the pass has been supplanted by the Fréjus Highway Tunnel (opened 1980) and Rail Tunnel (opened 1871).

text: The Saint Gotthard Pass crosses from Central Switzerland to Ticino; in 1882 the 15 km (9 mi) long Saint Gotthard Railway Tunnel was opened connecting Lucerne in Switzerland, with Milan in Italy. 98 years later followed Gotthard Road Tunnel (16.9 km (11 mi) long) connecting the A2 motorway in Göschenen on the German-Swiss side with Airolo on the Italian-Swiss side, exactly like the railway tunnel. On 1 June 2016 the world's longest railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel was opened, which connects Erstfeld in canton of Uri with Bodio in canton of Ticino by two single tubes of 57.1 kilometres (35.5 mi).[18] It is the first tunnel, which traverses the Alps on a flat route.[19] From 11 December 2016 it is part of the regular railway timetable and be used hourly as standard way to ride between Basel/Lucerne/Zurich and Bellinzona/Lugano/Milano.[20]

text: The highest pass in the alps is the col de l'Iseran in Savoy (France) at 2,770 m (9,088 ft), followed by the Stelvio Pass in northern Italy at 2,756 m (9,042 ft); the road was built in the 1820s.[17]

text: Orogeny and geology[edit]

text: Important geological concepts were established as naturalists began studying the rock formations of the Alps in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century the now defunct theory of geosynclines was used to explain the presence of "folded" mountain chains but by the mid-20th century the theory of plate tectonics became widely accepted.[21]

text: The formation of the Alps (the Alpine orogeny) was an episodic process that began about 300 million years ago.[23] In the Paleozoic Era the Pangaean supercontinent consisted of a single tectonic plate; it broke into separate plates during the Mesozoic Era and the Tethys sea developed between Laurasia and Gondwana during the Jurassic Period.[21] The Tethys was later squeezed between colliding plates causing the formation of mountain ranges called the Alpide belt, from Gibraltar through the Himalayas to Indonesia—a process that began at the end of the Mesozoic and continues into the present. The formation of the Alps was a segment of this orogenic process,[21] caused by the collision between the African and the Eurasian plates[24] that began in the late Cretaceous Period.[25]

text: Under extreme compressive stresses and pressure, marine sedimentary rocks were uplifted, creating characteristic recumbent folds, or nappes, and thrust faults.[26] As the rising peaks underwent erosion, a layer of marine flysch sediments was deposited in the foreland basin, and the sediments became involved in younger nappes (folds) as the orogeny progressed. Coarse sediments from the continual uplift and erosion were later deposited in foreland areas as molasse.[24] The molasse regions in Switzerland and Bavaria were well-developed and saw further upthrusting of flysch.[27]

text: The Alpine orogeny occurred in ongoing cycles through to the Paleogene causing differences in nappe structures, with a late-stage orogeny causing the development of the Jura Mountains.[28] A series of tectonic events in the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods caused different paleogeographic regions.[28] The Alps are subdivided by different lithology (rock composition) and nappe structure according to the orogenic events that affected them.[6] The geological subdivision differentiates the Western, Eastern Alps and Southern Alps: the Helveticum in the north, the Penninicum and Austroalpine system in the centre and, south of the Periadriatic Seam, the Southern Alpine system.[29]

text: According to geologist Stefan Schmid, because the Western Alps underwent a metamorphic event in the Cenozoic Era while the Austroalpine peaks underwent an event in the Cretaceous Period, the two areas show distinct differences in nappe formations.[28] Flysch deposits in the Southern Alps of Lombardy probably occurred in the Cretaceous or later.[28]

text: Peaks in France, Italy and Switzerland lie in the "Houillière zone", which consists of basement with sediments from the Mesozoic Era.[29] High "massifs" with external sedimentary cover are more common in the Western Alps and were affected by Neogene Period thin-skinned thrusting whereas the Eastern Alps have comparatively few high peaked massifs.[27] Similarly the peaks in eastern Switzerland extending to western Austria (Helvetic nappes) consist of thin-skinned sedimentary folding that detached from former basement rock.[30]

text: In simple terms the structure of the Alps consists of layers of rock of European, African and oceanic (Tethyan) origin.[31] The bottom nappe structure is of continental European origin, above which are stacked marine sediment nappes, topped off by nappes derived from the African plate.[32] The Matterhorn is an example of the ongoing orogeny and shows evidence of great folding. The tip of the mountain consists of gneisses from the African plate; the base of the peak, below the glaciated area, consists of European basement rock. The sequence of Tethyan marine sediments and their oceanic basement is sandwiched between rock derived from the African and European plates.[22]

text: The core regions of the Alpine orogenic belt have been folded and fractured in such a manner that erosion created the characteristic steep vertical peaks of the Swiss Alps that rise seemingly straight out of the foreland areas.[25] Peaks such as Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and high peaks in the Pennine Alps, the Briançonnais, and Hohe Tauern consist of layers of rock from the various orogenies including exposures of basement rock.[33]

text: "Four-thousanders" and ascents[edit]

text: The Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) has defined a list of 82 "official" Alpine summits that reach at least 4,000 m (13,123 ft).[34] The list includes not only mountains, but also subpeaks with little prominence that are considered important mountaineering objectives. Below are listed the 22 "four-thousanders" with at least 500 m (1,640 ft) of prominence.

text: While Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786, most of the Alpine four-thousanders were climbed during the second half of the 19th century; the ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. Karl Blodig (1859–1956) was among the first to successfully climb all the major 4,000 m peaks. He completed his series of ascents in 1911.[35]

text: The first British Mont Blanc ascent was in 1788; the first female ascent in 1819. By the mid-1850s Swiss mountaineers had ascended most of the peaks and were eagerly sought as mountain guides. Edward Whymper reached the top of the Matterhorn in 1865 (after seven attempts), and in 1938 the last of the six great north faces of the Alps was climbed with the first ascent of the Eiger Nordwand (north face of the Eiger).[36]

text:
The 22 Alpine four-thousanders with at least 500 metres of topographic prominence[37]

Name
Height
Range
Name
Height
Range

Mont Blanc
4,810 m (15,781 ft)
Graian Alps
Dent d'Hérens
4,171 m (13,684 ft)
Pennine Alps

Monte Rosa
4,634 m (15,203 ft)
Pennine Alps
Jungfrau
4,158 m (13,642 ft)
Bernese Alps

Dom
4,545 m (14,911 ft)
Pennine Alps
Aiguille Verte
4,122 m (13,524 ft)
Graian Alps

Weisshorn
4,506 m (14,783 ft)
Pennine Alps
Mönch
4,107 m (13,474 ft)
Bernese Alps

Matterhorn
4,478 m (14,692 ft)
Pennine Alps
Barre des Écrins
4,102 m (13,458 ft)
Dauphiné Alps

Dent Blanche
4,357 m (14,295 ft)
Pennine Alps
Schreckhorn
4,078 m (13,379 ft)
Bernese Alps

Grand Combin
4,314 m (14,154 ft)
Pennine Alps
Ober Gabelhorn
4,063 m (13,330 ft)
Pennine Alps

Finsteraarhorn
4,273 m (14,019 ft)
Bernese Alps
Gran Paradiso
4,061 m (13,323 ft)
Graian Alps

Grandes Jorasses
4,208 m (13,806 ft)
Graian Alps
Piz Bernina
4,049 m (13,284 ft)
Bernina Range

Rimpfischhorn
4,199 m (13,776 ft)
Pennine Alps
Weissmies
4,017 m (13,179 ft)
Pennine Alps

Aletschhorn
4,193 m (13,757 ft)
Bernese Alps
Lagginhorn
4,010 m (13,156 ft)
Pennine Alps

text: Minerals[edit]

text: The Alps are a source of minerals that have been mined for thousands of years. In the 8th to 6th centuries BC during the Hallstatt culture, Celtic tribes mined copper; later the Romans mined gold for coins in the Bad Gastein area. Erzberg in Styria furnishes high-quality iron ore for the steel industry. Crystals are found throughout much of the Alpine region such as cinnabar, amethyst, and quartz. The cinnabar deposits in Slovenia are a notable source of cinnabar pigments.[38]

text: Alpine crystals have been studied and collected for hundreds of years, and began to be classified in the 18th century. Leonhard Euler studied the shapes of crystals, and by the 19th century crystal hunting was common in Alpine regions. David Friedrich Wiser amassed a collection of 8000 crystals that he studied and documented. In the 20th century Robert Parker wrote a well-known work about the rock crystals of the Swiss Alps; at the same period a commission was established to control and standardize the naming of Alpine minerals.[39]

text: Glaciers[edit]

text: In the Miocene Epoch the mountains underwent severe erosion because of glaciation,[25] which was noted in the mid-19th century by naturalist Louis Agassiz who presented a paper proclaiming the Alps were covered in ice at various intervals—a theory he formed when studying rocks near his Neuchâtel home which he believed originated to the west in the Bernese Oberland. Because of his work he came to be known as the "father of the ice-age concept" although other naturalists before him put forth similar ideas.[40]

text: Agassiz studied glacier movement in the 1840s at the Unteraar Glacier where he found the glacier moved 100 m (328 ft) per year, more rapidly in the middle than at the edges. His work was continued by other scientists and now a permanent laboratory exists inside a glacier under the Jungfraujoch, devoted exclusively to the study of Alpine glaciers.[40]

text: Glaciers pick up rocks and sediment with them as they flow. This causes erosion and the formation of valleys over time. The Inn valley is an example of a valley carved by glaciers during the ice ages with a typical terraced structure caused by erosion. Eroded rocks from the most recent ice age lie at the bottom of the valley while the top of the valley consists of erosion from earlier ice ages.[40] Glacial valleys have characteristically steep walls (reliefs); valleys with lower reliefs and talus slopes are remnants of glacial troughs or previously infilled valleys.[41] Moraines, piles of rock picked up during the movement of the glacier, accumulate at edges, centre and the terminus of glaciers.[40]

text: Alpine glaciers can be straight rivers of ice, long sweeping rivers, spread in a fan-like shape (Piedmont glaciers), and curtains of ice that hang from vertical slopes of the mountain peaks. The stress of the movement causes the ice to break and crack loudly, perhaps explaining why the mountains were believed to be home to dragons in the medieval period. The cracking creates unpredictable and dangerous crevasses, often invisible under new snowfall, which cause the greatest danger to mountaineers.[42]

text: Glaciers end in ice caves (the Rhône Glacier), by trailing into a lake or river, or by shedding snowmelt on a meadow. Sometimes a piece of glacier will detach or break resulting in flooding, property damage and loss of life.[42] In the 17th century about 2500 people were killed by an avalanche in a village on the French-Italian border; in the 19th century 120 homes in a village near Zermatt were destroyed by an avalanche.[43]

text: High levels of precipitation cause the glaciers to descend to permafrost levels in some areas whereas in other, more arid regions, glaciers remain above about the 3,500 m (11,483 ft) level.[44] The 1,817 square kilometres (702 sq mi) of the Alps covered by glaciers in 1876 had shrunk to 1,342 km2 (518 sq mi) by 1973, resulting in decreased river run-off levels.[45] Forty percent of the glaciation in Austria has disappeared since 1850, and 30% of that in Switzerland.[46]

text: Rivers and lakes[edit]

text: The Alps provide lowland Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power.[48] Although the area is only about 11 percent of the surface area of Europe, the Alps provide up to 90 percent of water to lowland Europe, particularly to arid areas and during the summer months. Cities such as Milan depend on 80 percent of water from Alpine runoff.[11][49][50] Water from the rivers is used in over 500 hydroelectricity power plants, generating as much as 2900 GWh of electricity.[4]

text: Major European rivers flow from Switzerland, such as the Rhine, the Rhône, the Inn, the Ticino and the Po, all of which have headwaters in the Alps and flow into neighbouring countries, finally emptying into the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. Other rivers such as the Danube have major tributaries flowing into them that originate in the Alps.[11] The Rhône is second to the Nile as a freshwater source to the Mediterranean Sea; the river begins as glacial meltwater, flows into Lake Geneva, and from there to France where one of its uses is to cool nuclear power plants.[51] The Rhine originates in a 30 square kilometre area in Switzerland and represents almost 60 percent of water exported from the country.[51] Tributary valleys, some of which are complicated, channel water to the main valleys which can experience flooding during the snow melt season when rapid runoff causes debris torrents and swollen rivers.[52]

text: The rivers form lakes, such as Lake Geneva, a crescent shaped lake crossing the Swiss border with Lausanne on the Swiss side and the town of Evian-les-Bains on the French side. In Germany, the medieval St. Bartholomew's chapel was built on the south side of the Königssee, accessible only by boat or by climbing over the abutting peaks.[53]

text: Scientists have been studying the impact of climate change and water use. For example, each year more water is diverted from rivers for snowmaking in the ski resorts, the effect of which is yet unknown. Furthermore, the decrease of glaciated areas combined with a succession of winters with lower-than-expected precipitation may have a future impact on the rivers in the Alps as well as an effect on the water availability to the lowlands.[49][54]

text: Climate[edit]

text: The Alps are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher-elevation terrain. Elevations around the world that have cold climates similar to those of the polar regions have been called Alpine. A rise from sea level into the upper regions of the atmosphere causes the temperature to decrease (see adiabatic lapse rate). The effect of mountain chains on prevailing winds is to carry warm air belonging to the lower region into an upper zone, where it expands in volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of temperature, often accompanied by precipitation in the form of snow or rain.[55] The height of the Alps is sufficient to divide the weather patterns in Europe into a wet north and a dry south because moisture is sucked from the air as it flows over the high peaks.[56]

text: The severe weather in the Alps has been studied since the 18th century; particularly the weather patterns such as the seasonal foehn wind. Numerous weather stations were placed in the mountains early in the early 20th century, providing continuous data for climatologists.[10] Some of the valleys are quite arid such as the Aosta valley in Italy, the Maurienne in France, the Valais in Switzerland, and northern Tyrol.[10]

text: The areas that are not arid and receive high precipitation experience periodic flooding from rapid snowmelt and runoff.[52] The mean precipitation in the Alps ranges from a low of 2,600 mm (100 in) per year to 3,600 mm (140 in) per year, with the higher levels occurring at high altitudes. At altitudes between 1,000 and 3,000 m (3,281 and 9,843 ft), snowfall begins in November and accumulates through to April or May when the melt begins. Snow lines vary from 2,400 to 3,000 m (7,874 to 9,843 ft), above which the snow is permanent and the temperatures hover around the freezing point even July and August. High-water levels in streams and rivers peak in June and July when the snow is still melting at the higher altitudes.[57]

text: The Alps are split into five climatic zones, each with different vegetation. The climate, plant life and animal life vary among the different sections or zones of the mountains. The lowest zone is the colline zone, which exists between 500 and 1,000 m (1,640 and 3,281 ft), depending on the location. The montane zone extends from 800 to 1,700 m (2,625 to 5,577 ft), followed by the sub-Alpine zone from 1,600 to 2,400 m (5,249 to 7,874 ft). The Alpine zone, extending from tree line to snow line, is followed by the glacial zone, which covers the glaciated areas of the mountain. Climatic conditions show variances within the same zones; for example, weather conditions at the head of a mountain valley, extending directly from the peaks, are colder and more severe than those at the mouth of a valley which tend to be less severe and receive less snowfall.[58]

text: Various models of climate change have been projected into the 22nd century for the Alps, with an expectation that a trend toward increased temperatures will have an effect on snowfall, snowpack, glaciation, and river runoff.[59] Significant changes, of both natural and anthropogenic origins, have already been diagnosed from observations.[60][61][62]

text: Ecology[edit]

text: Flora[edit]

text: Thirteen thousand species of plants have been identified in the Alpine regions.[4] Alpine plants are grouped by habitat and soil type which can be limestone or non-calcareous. The habitats range from meadows, bogs, woodland (deciduous and coniferous) areas to soil-less scree and moraines, and rock faces and ridges.[7] A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief deciduous trees—oak, beech, ash and sycamore maple. These do not reach exactly to the same elevation, nor are they often found growing together; but their upper limit corresponds accurately enough to the change from a temperate to a colder climate that is further proved by a change in the presence of wild herbaceous vegetation.[63] This limit usually lies about 1,200 m (3,940 ft) above the sea on the north side of the Alps, but on the southern slopes it often rises to 1,500 m (4,920 ft), sometimes even to 1,700 m (5,580 ft).[64]

text: Above the forestry, there is often a band of short pine trees (Pinus mugo), which is in turn superseded by Alpenrosen, dwarf shrubs, typically Rhododendron ferrugineum (on acid soils) or Rhododendron hirsutum (on alkaline soils).[65] Although the Alpenrose prefers acidic soil, the plants are found throughout the region.[7] Above the tree line is the area defined as "alpine" where in the alpine meadow plants are found that have adapted well to harsh conditions of cold temperatures, aridity, and high altitudes. The alpine area fluctuates greatly because of regional fluctuations in tree lines.[66]

text: Alpine plants such as the Alpine gentian grow in abundance in areas such as the meadows above the Lauterbrunnental. Gentians are named after the Illyrian king Gentius, and 40 species of the early-spring blooming flower grow in the Alps, in a range of 1,500 to 2,400 m (4,921 to 7,874 ft).[67] Writing about the gentians in Switzerland D. H. Lawrence described them as "darkening the day-time, torch-like with the smoking blueness of Pluto's gloom."[68] Gentians tend to "appear" repeatedly as the spring blooming takes place at progressively later dates, moving from the lower altitude to the higher altitude meadows where the snow melts much later than in the valleys. On the highest rocky ledges the spring flowers bloom in the summer.[7]

text: At these higher altitudes, the plants tend to form isolated cushions. In the Alps, several species of flowering plants have been recorded above 4,000 m (13,120 ft), including Ranunculus glacialis, Androsace alpina and Saxifraga biflora. Eritrichium nanum, commonly known as the King of the Alps, is the most elusive of the alpine flowers, growing on rocky ridges at 2,600 to 3,750 m (8,530 to 12,303 ft).[69] Perhaps the best known of the alpine plants is Edelweiss which grows in rocky areas and can be found at altitudes as low as 1,200 m (3,937 ft) and as high as 3,400 m (11,155 ft).[7] The plants that grow at the highest altitudes have adapted to conditions by specialization such as growing in rock screes that give protection from winds.[70]

text: The extreme and stressful climatic conditions give way to the growth of plant species with secondary metabolites important for medicinal purposes. Origanum vulgare, Prunella vulgaris, Solanum nigrum and Urtica dioica are some of the more useful medicinal species found in the Alps.[71]

text: Human interference has nearly exterminated the trees in many areas, and, except for the beech forests of the Austrian Alps, forests of deciduous trees are rarely found after the extreme deforestation between the 17th and 19th centuries.[72] The vegetation has changed since the second half of the 20th century, as the high alpine meadows cease to be harvested for hay or used for grazing which eventually might result in a regrowth of forest. In some areas the modern practice of building ski runs by mechanical means has destroyed the underlying tundra from which the plant life cannot recover during the non-skiing months, whereas areas that still practice a natural piste type of ski slope building preserve the fragile underlayers.[70]

text: Fauna[edit]

text: The Alps are a habitat for 30,000 species of wildlife, ranging from the tiniest snow fleas to brown bears, many of which have made adaptations to the harsh cold conditions and high altitudes to the point that some only survive in specific micro-climates either directly above or below the snow line.[4][73]

text: The largest mammal to live in the highest altitudes are the alpine ibex, which have been sighted as high as 3,000 m (9,843 ft). The ibex live in caves and descend to eat the succulent alpine grasses.[74] Classified as antelopes,[7] chamois are smaller than ibex and found throughout the Alps, living above the tree line and are common in the entire alpine range.[75] Areas of the eastern Alps are still home to brown bears. In Switzerland the canton of Bern was named for the bears but the last bear is recorded as having been killed in 1792 above Kleine Scheidegg by three hunters from Grindelwald.[76]

text: Many rodents such as voles live underground. Marmots live almost exclusively above the tree line as high as 2,700 m (8,858 ft). They hibernate in large groups to provide warmth,[77] and can be found in all areas of the Alps, in large colonies they build beneath the alpine pastures.[7] Golden eagles and bearded vultures are the largest birds to be found in the Alps; they nest high on rocky ledges and can be found at altitudes of 2,400 m (7,874 ft). The most common bird is the alpine chough which can be found scavenging at climber's huts or at the Jungfraujoch, a high altitude tourist destination.[78]

text: Reptiles such as adders and vipers live up to the snow line; because they cannot bear the cold temperatures they hibernate underground and soak up the warmth on rocky ledges.[79] The high-altitude Alpine salamanders have adapted to living above the snow line by giving birth to fully developed young rather than laying eggs. Brown trout can be found in the streams up to the snow line.[79] Molluscs such as the wood snail live up the snow line. Popularly gathered as food, the snails are now protected.[80]

text: A number of species of moths live in the Alps, some of which are believed to have evolved in the same habitat up to 120 million years ago, long before the Alps were created. Blue moths can commonly be seen drinking from the snow melt; some species of blue moths fly as high as 1,800 m (5,906 ft).[81] The butterflies tend to be large, such as those from the swallowtail Parnassius family, with a habitat that ranges to 1,800 m (5,906 ft). Twelve species of beetles have habitats up to the snow line; the most beautiful and formerly collected for its colours but now protected is Rosalia alpina.[82] Spiders, such as the large wolf spider, live above the snow line and can be seen as high as 400 m (1,312 ft). Scorpions can be found in the Italian Alps.[80]

text: Some of the species of moths and insects show evidence of having been indigenous to the area from as long ago as the Alpine orogeny. In Emosson in Valais, Switzerland, dinosaur tracks were found in the 1970s, dating probably from the Triassic Period.[83]

text: History[edit]

text: Prehistory to Christianity[edit]

text: About 10,000 years ago, when the ice melted after the last glacial period, late Palaeolithic communities were established along the lake shores and in cave systems. Evidence of human habitation has been found in caves near Vercors, close to Grenoble; in Austria the Mondsee culture shows evidence of houses built on piles to keep them dry. Standing stones have been found in Alpine areas of France and Italy. The rock drawings in Valcamonica are more than 5000 years old; more than 200,000 drawings and etchings have been identified at the site.[84]

text: In 1991 a mummy of a neolithic body, known as Ötzi the Iceman, was discovered by hikers on the Similaun glacier. His clothing and gear indicate that he lived in an alpine farming community, while the location and manner of his death – an arrowhead was discovered in his shoulder – suggests he was travelling from one place to another.[85] Analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of Ötzi, has shown that he belongs to the K1 subclade which cannot be categorized into any of the three modern branches of that subclade. The new subclade has provisionally been named K1ö for Ötzi.[86]

text: Celtic tribes settled in Switzerland between 1000 and 1500 BC. The Raetians lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the Helvetii and the Allobrogi settled in the Rhône valley and in Savoy. Among the many substances Celtic tribes mined was salt in areas such as Salzburg in Austria where evidence of the Hallstatt culture was found by a mine manager in the 19th century.[84] By the 6th century BC the La Tène culture was well established in the region,[87] and became known for high quality decorated weapons and jewellery.[88] The Celts were the most widespread of the mountain tribes—they had warriors that were strong, tall and fair skinned, and skilled with iron weapons, which gave them an advantage in warfare.[89]

text: During the Second Punic War in 218 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal probably crossed the Alps with an army numbering 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants. This was one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare,[90] although no evidence exists of the actual crossing or the place of crossing. The Romans, however, had built roads along the mountain passes, which continued to be used through the medieval period to cross the mountains and Roman road markers can still be found on the mountain passes.[91]

text: The Roman expansion brought the defeat of the Allobrogi in 121 BC and during the Gallic Wars in 58 BC Julius Caesar overcame the Helvetii. The Rhaetians continued to resist but were eventually conquered when the Romans turned northward to the Danube valley in Austria and defeated the Brigantes.[92] The Romans built settlements in the Alps; towns such as Aosta (named for Augustus) in Italy, Martigny and Lausanne in Switzerland, and Partenkirchen in Bavaria show remains of Roman baths, villas, arenas and temples.[93] Much of the Alpine region was gradually settled by Germanic tribes, (Lombards, Alemanni, Bavarii, and Franks) from the 6th to the 13th centuries mixing with the local Celtic tribes.[94]

text: Christianity, feudalism, and Napoleonic wars[edit]

text: Christianity was established in the region by the Romans, and saw the establishment of monasteries and churches in the high regions. The Frankish expansion of the Carolingian Empire and the Bavarian expansion in the eastern Alps introduced feudalism and the building of castles to support the growing number of dukedoms and kingdoms. Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento, Italy, still has intricate frescoes, excellent examples of Gothic art, in a tower room. In Switzerland, Château de Chillon is preserved as an example of medieval architecture.[95]

text: Much of the medieval period was a time of power struggles between competing dynasties such as the House of Savoy, the Visconti in northern Italy and the House of Habsburg in Austria and Slovenia.[96] In 1291 to protect themselves from incursions by the Habsburgs, four cantons in the middle of Switzerland drew up a charter that is considered to be a declaration of independence from neighbouring kingdoms. After a series of battles fought in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, more cantons joined the confederacy and by the 16th century Switzerland was well-established as a separate state.[97]

text: During the Napoleonic Wars in the late 18th century and early 19th century, Napoleon annexed territory formerly controlled by the Habsburgs and Savoys. In 1798 he established the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland; two years later he led an army across the St. Bernard pass and conquered almost all of the Alpine regions.[98]

text: After the fall of Napoléon, many alpine countries developed heavy protections to prevent any new invasion. Thus, Savoy built a series of fortifications in the Maurienne valley in order to protect the major alpine passes, such as the col du Mont-Cenis that was even crossed by Charlemagne and his father to defeat the Lombards. The later indeed became very popular after the construction of a paved road ordered by Napoléon Bonaparte. The Barrière de l'Esseillon is a serie of forts with heavy batteries, built on a cliff with a perfect view on the valley, a gorge on one side and steep mountains on the other side.

text: In the 19th century, the monasteries built in the high Alps during the medieval period to shelter travellers and as places of pilgrimage, became tourist destinations. The Benedictines had built monasteries in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Oberammergau; the Cistercians in the Tyrol and at Lake Constance; and the Augustinians had abbeys in the Savoy and one in the centre of Interlaken, Switzerland.[99] The Great St Bernard Hospice, built in the 9th or 10th centuries, at the summit of the Great Saint Bernard Pass was shelter for travellers and place for pilgrims since its inception; by the 19th century it became a tourist attraction with notable visitors such as author Charles Dickens and mountaineer Edward Whymper.[100]

text: Exploration[edit]

text: Radiocarbon dated charcoal placed around 50,000 years ago was found in the Drachloch (Dragon's Hole) cave above the village of Vattis in the canton of St. Gallen, proving that the high peaks were visited by prehistoric people. Seven bear skulls from the cave may have been buried by the same prehistoric people.[101] The peaks, however, were mostly ignored except for a few notable examples, and long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys.[102][103] The mountain peaks were seen as terrifying, the abode of dragons and demons, to the point that people blindfolded themselves to cross the Alpine passes.[104] The glaciers remained a mystery and many still believed the highest areas to be inhabited by dragons.[105]

text: Charles VII of France ordered his chamberlain to climb Mont Aiguille in 1356. The knight reached the summit of Rocciamelone where he left a bronze triptych of three crosses, a feat which he conducted with the use of ladders to traverse the ice.[106] In 1492 Antoine de Ville climbed Mont Aiguille, without reaching the summit, an experience he described as "horrifying and terrifying."[103] Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by variations of light in the higher altitudes, and climbed a mountain—scholars are uncertain which one; some believe it may have been Monte Rosa. From his description of a "blue like that of a gentian" sky it is thought that he reached a significantly high altitude.[107] In the 18th century four Chamonix men almost made the summit of Mont Blanc but were overcome by altitude sickness and snowblindness.[108]

text: Conrad Gessner was the first naturalist to ascend the mountains in the 16th century, to study them, writing that in the mountains he found the "theatre of the Lord".[109] By the 19th century more naturalists began to arrive to explore, study and conquer the high peaks.[110] Two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740–1799) in the Pennine Alps,[111] and the Benedictine monk of Disentis Placidus a Spescha (1752–1833).[110] Born in Geneva, Saussure was enamoured with the mountains from an early age; he left a law career to become a naturalist and spent many years trekking through the Bernese Oberland, the Savoy, the Piedmont and Valais, studying the glaciers and the geology, as he became an early proponent of the theory of rock upheaval.[112] Saussure, in 1787, was a member of the third ascent of Mont Blanc—today the summits of all the peaks have been climbed.[36]

text: The Romantics[edit]

text: Albrecht von Haller's poem Die Alpen (1732) described the mountains as an area of mythical purity.[113] Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another writer who presented the Alps as a place of allure and beauty, in his novel Julie, or the New Heloise (1761), Later the first wave of Romantics such as Goethe and Turner came to admire the scenery;[citation needed] Wordsworth visited the area in 1790, writing of his experiences in The Prelude (1799). Schiller later wrote the play William Tell (1804), which tells the story the legendary Swiss marksman William Tell as part of the greater Swiss struggle for independence from the Habsburg Empire in the early 14th century. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Alpine countries began to see an influx of poets, artists, and musicians,[114] as visitors came to experience the sublime effects of monumental nature.[115]

text: In 1816 Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary Shelley visited Geneva and all three were inspired by the scenery in their writings.[114] During these visits Shelley wrote the poem "Mont Blanc", Byron wrote "The Prisoner of Chillon" and the dramatic poem Manfred, and Mary Shelley, who found the scenery overwhelming, conceived the idea for the novel Frankenstein in her villa on the shores of Lake Geneva in the midst of a thunderstorm. When Coleridge travelled to Chamonix, he declaimed, in defiance of Shelley, who had signed himself "Atheos" in the guestbook of the Hotel de Londres near Montenvers,[116] "Who would be, who could be an atheist in this valley of wonders".[117]

text: By the mid-19th century scientists began to arrive en masse to study the geology and ecology of the region.[118]

text: The Nazis[edit]

text: Austrian-born Adolf Hitler had a lifelong romantic fascination with the Alps and by the 1930s established a home at Berghof, in the Obersalzberg region outside of Berchtesgaden. His first visit to the area was in 1923 and he maintained a strong tie there until the end of his life. At the end of World War II the US Army occupied Obersalzberg, to prevent Hitler from retreating with the Wehrmacht into the mountains.[119]

text: By 1940 many of the Alpine countries were under the control of the Axis powers. Austria underwent a political coup that made it part of the Third Reich; France had been invaded and Italy was a fascist regime. Switzerland and Liechtenstein were the only countries to avoid Axis takeover.[120] The Swiss Confederation mobilized its troops—the country follows the doctrine of "armed neutrality" with all males required to have military training—a number that General Eisenhower estimated to be about 850,000. The Swiss commanders wired the infrastructure leading into the country with explosives, and threatened to destroy bridges, railway tunnels and roads across passes in the event of a Nazi invasion; and if there was an invasion the Swiss army would then have retreated to the heart of the mountain peaks, where conditions were harsher, and a military invasion would involve difficult and protracted battles.[121]

text: German Ski troops were trained for the war, and battles were waged in mountainous areas such as the battle at Riva Ridge in Italy, where the American 10th Mountain Division encountered heavy resistance in February 1945.[122] At the end of the war, a substantial amount of Nazi plunder was found stored in Austria, where Hitler had hoped to retreat as the war drew to a close. The salt mines surrounding the Altaussee area, where American troops found 75 kilos of gold coins stored in a single mine, were used to store looted art, jewels, and currency; vast quantities of looted art were found and returned to the owners.[123]

text: Largest cities[edit]

text: The largest city within the Alps is the city of Grenoble in France. Other larger and important cities within the Alps with over 100,000 inhabitants are in Tyrol with Bolzano (Italy), Trento (Italy) and Innsbruck (Austria). Larger cities outside the Alps are Milan, Verona, Turin (Italy), Munich (Germany), Vienna, Salzburg (Austria), Zurich, Geneva (Switzerland) and Lyon (France).

text: Cities with over 100,000 inhabitants in the Alps are:

text:
Rank
Municipality
Inhabitants
Country
Region

1
 Grenoble
162,780
France
 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

2
 Innsbruck
132,236
Austria
 Tyrol

3
 Trento
117,417
Italy
 Trentino-South Tyrol

4
 Bolzano/Bozen
106,951
Italy
 Trentino-South Tyrol

text: Alpine people and culture[edit]

text: The population of the region is 14 million spread across eight countries.[4] On the rim of the mountains, on the plateaus and the plains the economy consists of manufacturing and service jobs whereas in the higher altitudes and in the mountains farming is still essential to the economy.[124] Farming and forestry continue to be mainstays of Alpine culture, industries that provide for export to the cities and maintain the mountain ecology.[125]

text: Much of the Alpine culture is unchanged since the medieval period when skills that guaranteed survival in the mountain valleys and in the highest villages became mainstays, leading to strong traditions of carpentry, woodcarving, baking and pastry-making, and cheesemaking.[126]

text: Farming had been a traditional occupation for centuries, although it became less dominant in the 20th century with the advent of tourism. Grazing and pasture land are limited because of the steep and rocky topography of the Alps. In mid-June cows are moved to the highest pastures close to the snowline, where they are watched by herdsmen who stay in the high altitudes often living in stone huts or wooden barns during the summers.[126] Villagers celebrate the day the cows are herded up to the pastures and again when they return in mid-September. The Almabtrieb, Alpabzug, Alpabfahrt, Désalpes («coming down from the alps») is celebrated by decorating the cows with garlands and enormous cowbells while the farmers dress in traditional costumes.[126]

text: Cheesemaking is an ancient tradition in most Alpine countries. A wheel of cheese from the Emmental in Switzerland can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lb), and the Beaufort in Savoy can weight up to 70 kg (150 lb). Owners of the cows traditionally receive from the cheesemakers a portion in relation to the proportion of the cows' milk from the summer months in the high alps. Haymaking is an important farming activity in mountain villages which has become somewhat mechanized in recent years, although the slopes are so steep that usually scythes are necessary to cut the grass. Hay is normally brought in twice a year, often also on festival days.[126] Alpine festivals vary from country to country and often include the display of local costumes such as dirndl and trachten, the playing of Alpenhorns, wrestling matches, some pagan traditions such as Walpurgis Night and, in many areas, Carnival is celebrated before Lent.[127]

text: In the high villages people live in homes built according to medieval designs that withstand cold winters. The kitchen is separated from the living area (called the stube, the area of the home heated by a stove), and second-floor bedrooms benefit from rising heat. The typical Swiss chalet originated in the Bernese Oberland. Chalets often face south or downhill, and are built of solid wood, with a steeply gabled roof to allow accumulated snow to slide off easily. Stairs leading to upper levels are sometimes built on the outside, and balconies are sometimes enclosed.[126][128]

text: Food is passed from the kitchen to the stube, where the dining room table is placed. Some meals are communal, such as fondue, where a pot is set in the middle of the table for each person to dip into. Other meals are still served in a traditional manner on carved wooden plates. Furniture has been traditionally elaborately carved and in many Alpine countries carpentry skills are passed from generation to generation.

text: Roofs are traditionally constructed from Alpine rocks such as pieces of schist, gneiss or slate.[129] Such chalets are typically found in the higher parts of the valleys, as in the Maurienne valley in Savoy, where the amount of snow during the cold months is important. The inclination of the roof cannot exceed 40%, allowing the snow to stay on top, thereby functioning as insulation from the cold.[130] In the lower areas where the forests are widespread, wooden tiles are traditionally used. Commonly made of Norway spruce, they are called "tavaillon". The Alpine regions are multicultural and linguistically diverse. Dialects are common, and vary from valley to valley and region to region. In the Slavic Alps alone 19 dialects have been identified. Some of the French dialects spoken in the French, Swiss and Italian alps of Aosta Valley derive from Arpitan, while the southern part of the western range is related to Old Provençal; the German dialects derive from Germanic tribal languages.[131] Romansh, spoken by two percent of the population in southeast Switzerland, is an ancient Rhaeto-Romanic language derived from Latin, remnants of ancient Celtic languages and perhaps Etruscan.[131]

text: Tourism[edit]

text: The Alps are one of the more popular tourist destinations in the world with many resorts such Oberstdorf, in Bavaria, Saalbach in Austria, Davos in Switzerland, Chamonix in France, and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy recording more than a million annual visitors. With over 120 million visitors a year, tourism is integral to the Alpine economy with much it coming from winter sports, although summer visitors are also an important component.[132]

text: The tourism industry began in the early 19th century when foreigners visited the Alps, travelled to the bases of the mountains to enjoy the scenery, and stayed at the spa-resorts. Large hotels were built during the Belle Époque; cog-railways, built early in the 20th century, brought tourists to ever higher elevations, with the Jungfraubahn terminating at the Jungfraujoch, well above the eternal snow-line, after going through a tunnel in Eiger. During this period winter sports were slowly introduced: in 1882 the first figure skating championship was held in St. Moritz, and downhill skiing became a popular sport with English visitors early in the 20th century,[132] as the first ski-lift was installed in 1908 above Grindelwald.[133]

text: In the first half of the 20th century the Olympic Winter Games were held three times in Alpine venues: the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France; the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland; and the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. During World War II the winter games were cancelled but after that time the Winter Games have been held in St. Moritz (1948), Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956), Innsbruck, Austria (1964 and 1976), Grenoble, France, (1968), Albertville, France, (1992), and Torino (2006).[134] In 1930 the Lauberhorn Rennen (Lauberhorn Race), was run for the first time on the Lauberhorn above Wengen;[135] the equally demanding Hahnenkamm was first run in the same year in Kitzbühl, Austria.[136] Both races continue to be held each January on successive weekends. The Lauberhorn is the more strenuous downhill race at 4.5 km (2.8 mi) and poses danger to racers who reach 130 km/h (81 mph) within seconds of leaving the start gate.[137]

text: During the post-World War I period ski-lifts were built in Swiss and Austrian towns to accommodate winter visitors, but summer tourism continued to be important; by the mid-20th century the popularity of downhill skiing increased greatly as it became more accessible and in the 1970s several new villages were built in France devoted almost exclusively to skiing, such as Les Menuires. Until this point Austria and Switzerland had been the traditional and more popular destinations for winter sports, but by the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, France, Italy and the Tyrol began to see increases in winter visitors.[132] From 1980 to the present, ski-lifts have been modernized and snow-making machines installed at many resorts, leading to concerns regarding the loss of traditional Alpine culture and questions regarding sustainable development as the winter ski industry continues to develop quickly and the number of summer tourists decline.[132]

text: Transportation[edit]

text: The region is serviced by 4,200 km (2,600 mi) of roads used by 6 million vehicles.[4] Train travel is well established in the Alps, with, for instance 120 km (75 mi) of track for every 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) in a country such as Switzerland.[138] Most of Europe's highest railways are located there. On 2007 the new 34.57 km-long (21 mi) Lötschberg Base Tunnel has been opened, which circumvents the 100 years older Lötschberg Tunnel. With the opening of the 57.1 km-long (35 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel on 1 June 2016 it bypasses the Gotthard Tunnel built in the 19th century and realizes the first flat route through the Alps.[139]

text: Some high mountain villages are car free either because of inaccessibility of by choice. Wengen, and Zermatt (in Switzerland) are accessible only by cable car or cog-rail trains. Avoriaz (in France), is car free, with other Alpine villages considering becoming car free zones or limiting the number of cars for reasons of sustainability of the fragile Alpine terrain.[140]

text: The lower regions and larger towns of the Alps are well-served by motorways and main roads, but higher mountain passes and byroads, which are amongst the highest in Europe, can be treacherous even in summer due to steep slopes. Many passes are closed in winter. A number of airports around the Alps (and some within), as well as long-distance rail links from all neighbouring countries, afford large numbers of travellers easy access.[4]


document_title: Sexual differentiation in humans

question_text: when did you become genetically male or female

text: Sexual differentiation in humans

text: Sex determination[edit]

text: A baby’s sex is determined at the time of conception. When the baby is conceived, a chromosome from the sperm cell, either X or Y, fuses with the X chromosome in the egg cell, determining whether the baby will be female (XX) or male (XY).[5] To be female, one needs to be (XX), whereas to be a male, (XY) is needed.  It is the Y chromosome that is essential for the development of the male reproductive organs, and with no Y chromosome, an embryo will develop into a female. This is because of the presence of the sex determining region of the Y chromosome, also known as the SRY gene.[6]

text: A fetus doesn't develop its external sexual organs until the second month of pregnancy—seven weeks after conception. The fetus appears to be sexually indifferent, looking neither like a male or a female.  Over the next five weeks, the fetus begins producing hormones that cause its sex organs to grow into either male or female organs. This process is called sexual differentiation. The precursor of the internal female sex organs is called the Müllerian system.

text: Reproductive system[edit]

text: By 7 weeks, a fetus has a genital tubercle, urogenital groove and sinus, and labioscrotal folds. In females, without excess androgens, these become the clitoris, urethra and vagina, and labia

text: Differentiation between the sexes of the sex organs occurs throughout embryological, fetal and later life. This includes both internal and external genital differentiation. In both males and females, the sex organs consist of three structures: the gonads, the internal genitalia, and the external genitalia.  In males, the gonads are the testes and in females they are the ovaries.  These are the organs that produce gametes (egg and sperm), the reproductive cells that will eventually meet to form the fertilized egg (zygote).

text: As the zygote divides, it first becomes the embryo (which means 'growing within'), typically between zero and eight weeks, then from the eighth week until birth, it is considered the fetus (which means 'unborn offspring').   The internal genitalia are all the accessory glands and ducts that connect the gonads to the outside environment.  The external genitalia consist of all the external reproductive structures. The sex of an early embryo cannot be determined because the reproductive structures do not differentiate until the seventh week.  Prior to this, the child is considered bipotential because it cannot be identified as male or female.

text: Internal genital differentiation[edit]

text: The internal genitalia consist of two accessory ducts: mesonephric ducts (male) and paramesonephric ducts (female). The mesonephric system is the precursor to the male genitalia and the paramesonephric  to the female reproductive system.[8] As development proceeds, one of the pairs of ducts develops while the other regresses.  This depends on the presence or absence of the sex determining region of the Y chromosome, also known as the SRY gene.[6]  In the presence of a functional SRY gene, the bipotential gonads develop into testes. Gonads are histologically distinguishable by 6–8 weeks of gestation.

text: Subsequent development of one set and degeneration of the other depends on the presence or absence of two testicular hormones: testosterone and anti-müllerian hormone (AMH).  Disruption of typical development may result in the development of both, or neither, duct system, which may produce morphologically intersex individuals.

text: Males: The SRY gene when transcribed and processed produces SRY protein that binds to DNA and directs the development of the gonad into testes.   Male development can only occur when the fetal testis secretes key hormones at a critical period in early gestation. The testes begin to secrete three hormones that influence the male internal and external genitalia: they secrete anti-müllerian hormone (AMH),  testosterone, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Anti-müllerian hormone causes the paramesonephric ducts to regress.  Testosterone converts the mesonephric ducts into male accessory structures, including the epididymis, vas deferens, and seminal vesicle.   Testosterone will also control the descending of the testes from the abdomen into the scrotum.[1] Many other genes found on other autosomes, includingWT-1, SOX9, SF-1 also play a role in gonadal development.[5]

text: Females: Without testosterone and AMH, the mesonephric ducts degenerate and disappear. The paramesonephric ducts develop into a uterus, fallopian tubes, and upper vagina.[5] There still remains a broad lack of information about the genetic controls of female development, and much remains unknown about the female embryonic process.[9]

text: External genital differentiation[edit]

text:
Males become externally distinct between 8 and 12 weeks, as androgens enlarge the phallus and cause the urogenital groove and sinus to fuse in the midline, producing an unambiguous penis with a phallic urethra, and a thinned, rugated scrotum.
Dihydrotestosterone will differentiate the remaining male characteristics of  the external genitalia.[1]

text: A sufficient amount of any androgen can cause external masculinization. The most potent is dihydrotestosterone (DHT), generated from testosterone in skin and genital tissue by the action of 5α-reductase. A male fetus may be incompletely masculinized if this enzyme is deficient. In some diseases and circumstances, other androgens may be present in high enough concentrations to cause partial or (rarely) complete masculinization of the external genitalia of a genetically female fetus. The testes begin to secrete three hormones that influence the male internal and external genitalia.  They secrete anti-müllerian hormone, testosterone, and Dihydrotestosterone.  anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) causes the paramesonephric ducts to regress.  Testosterone, which is secreted and converts the mesonephric ducts into male accessory structures, such as epididymis, vas deferens and seminal vesicle.   Testosterone will also control the descending of the testes from the abdomen into the scrotom.  Dihydrotestosterone, also known as (DHT) will differentiate the remaining male characteristics of  the external genitalia.[10]

text: Further sex differentiation of the external genitalia occurs at puberty, when androgen levels again become disparate. Male levels of testosterone directly induce growth of the penis, and indirectly (via DHT) the prostate.

text: Alfred Jost observed that while testosterone was required for mesonephric duct development, the regression of the paramesonephric duct was due to another substance. This was later determined to be paramesonephric inhibiting substance (MIS), a 140 kD dimeric glycoprotein that is produced by sertoli cells. MIS blocks the development of paramesonephric ducts, promoting their regression.[11]

text: Secondary sexual characteristics[edit]

text: Breast[edit]

text: Visible differentiation occurs at puberty, when estradiol and other hormones cause breasts to develop in typical females.

text: Psychological and behavioral differentiation[edit]

text: Human adults and children show many psychological and behavioral sex differences. Some (e.g., dress) are learned and obviously cultural. Others are demonstrable across cultures and have both biological and learned determinants. For example, some studies claim girls are, on average, more verbally fluent than boys, but boys are, on average, better at spatial calculation.[12][13] Some have observed that this may be due to two different patterns in parental communication with infants, noting that parents are more likely to talk to girls and more likely to engage in physical play with boys.[9] Because people cannot explore hormonal influences on human behavior experimentally, the relative contributions of biological factors and learning to human psychological and behavioral sex differences (especially gender identity, role, and sexual orientation) are controversial (and hotly contested).[9][14][15]

text: Current theories on mechanisms of sexual differentiation of brains and behavior in humans are based primarily on three sources of evidence: animal research involving manipulation of hormones in early life, observation of outcomes of small numbers of individuals with disorders of sexual development (intersex conditions or cases of early sex reassignment), and statistical distribution of traits in populations (e.g., rates of homosexuality in twins). Many of these cases suggest some genetic or hormonal effect on sex differentiation of behavior and mental traits[16] this has been disputed as poor interpretation of scientific methodology.[9][14][15]

text: Intersex conditions[edit]

text: The following variations are associated with atypical determination and differentiation process:[17]

text:
A zygote with only X chromosome (XO) results in Turner syndrome and will develop with female characteristics.[6]
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia - Inability of adrenal to produce sufficient cortisol, leading to increased production of testosterone resulting in severe masculinization of 46 XX females.
Persistent müllerian duct syndrome - A rare type of pseudohermaphroditism that occurs in 46 XY males, caused by either a mutation in the Müllerian inhibiting substance (MIS) gene, on 19p13, or its type II receptor, 12q13. Results in a retention of Müllerian ducts (persistence of rudimentary uterus and fallopian tubes in otherwise normally virilized males), unilateral or bilateral undescended testes and sometimes causes infertility.
XY differences of sex development - Atypical androgen production or inadequate androgen response, which can cause incomplete masculinization in XY males. Varies from mild failure of masculinization with undescended testes to complete sex reversal and female phenotype (Androgen insensitivity syndrome)
Swyer syndrome. A form of complete gonadal dysgenesis, mostly due to mutations in the first step of sex determination; the SRY genes.
A 5-alpha-reductase deficiency results in atypical development characterized by female phenotype or undervirilized male phenotype with development of the epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, and ejaculatory duct, but also a pseudovagina. This is because testosterone is converted to the more potent DHT by 5-alpha reductase. DHT is necessary to exert androgenic effects farther from the site of testosterone production, where the concentrations of testosterone are too low to have any potency.

text: Timeline[edit]

text:
Human prenatal sexual differentiation[18]

Fetal age(weeks)

Crown-rump length(mm)

Sex differentiating events

1

blastocyst

Inactivation of one X chromosome

4

2-3

Development of wolffian ducts

5

7

Migration of primordial germ cells in the undifferentiated gonad

6

10-15

Development of müllerian ducts

7

13-20

Differentiation of seminiferous tubules

8

30

Regression of müllerian ducts in male fetus

8

32-35

Appearance of Leydig cells. First synthesis of testosterone

9

43

Total regression of müllerian ducts. Loss of sensitivity of müllerian ducts in the female fetus

9

43

First meiotic prophase in oogonia

10

43-45

Beginning of masculinization of external genitalia

10

50

Beginning of regression of wolffian ducts in the female fetus

12

70

Fetal testis is in the internal inguinal ring

12-14

70-90

Male penile urethra is completed

14

90

Appearance of first spermatogonia

16

100

Appearance of first ovarian follicles

17

120

Numerous Leydig cells. Peak of testosterone secretion

20

150

Regression of Leydig cells. Diminished testosterone secretion

24

200

First multilayered ovarian follicles. Canalisation of the vagina

28

230

Cessation of oogonia multiplication

28

230

Descent of testis