Editing Geography of Italy (section)

==Orography==
===Mountains===
[[File:MontBlancFromENE.jpg|thumb|[[Mont Blanc]] (Monte Bianco) in [[Aosta Valley]], the highest point in the [[European Union]]]]
Almost 40% of the Italian territory is mountainous,<ref name=eug92>{{cite book|last=Riganti]|first=[dir. da Alberto|title=Enciclopedia universale Garzanti.|year=1991|publisher=Garzanti|location=Milano|isbn=88-11-50459-7|edition=Nuova ed. aggiornata e ampliata.}}</ref> with the [[Alps]] as the northern boundary and the [[Apennine Mountains]] forming the backbone of the peninsula and extending for {{convert|1350|km|abbr=on}}.<ref name=eug92 /> The Alpine mountain range is linked with the Apennines with the [[Colle di Cadibona]] pass in the [[Ligurian Alps]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.touringclub.it/destinazioni/73621/Colle-di-Cadibona|access-date=15 April 2010|title=Colle di Cadibona - Touring Club Italiano|language=it}}</ref> Nineteen [[Italian regions]] are crossed by either the Alps or the Apennines, or their offshoots. [[Sardinia]] has mountains with their own characteristics and are included in the Sardinian-Corsican relief, since it also affects [[Corsica]].

The Alps (formed during the [[Mesozoic]] and [[Cenozoic]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/GEOLOGIA/divulgazione/pianeta_terra/14_orogenesi/c_ororgenesi.htm|access-date=15 April 2010|title=Le orogenesi - Regione Emilia-Romagna|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422064531/http://www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/geologia/divulgazione/pianeta_terra/14_orogenesi/c_ororgenesi.htm|archive-date=22 April 2009|language=it}}</ref> surround the Po Valley to the north, east and west, and develop along the entire northern border of Italy (about {{cvt|1000|km|disp=or}}), creating a natural border. The Alps contain the highest peak in the [[European Union]], [[Mont Blanc]], at {{convert|4810|meters}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]], located between the [[Aosta Valley]] and [[France]].

The Apennines (formed during the [[Oligocene]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.ogs.trieste.it/gngts/gngts/convegniprecedenti/2001/media/2002/contents/pdf/02_04.pdf|access-date=15 April 2010|title=Integrazione di dati geologici e geofisici per un quadro geodinamico del sistema appennino meridionale arco-calabro-Sicilia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125055231/http://www2.ogs.trieste.it/gngts/gngts/convegniprecedenti/2001/media/2002/contents/pdf/02_04.pdf|archive-date=25 November 2015|language=it}}</ref> rise south of the Po Valley and run from north to south throughout the Italian peninsula, from [[Liguria]] to [[Calabria]] and continue in northern [[Sicily]] ending in the [[Madonie]], acting as a watershed between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic-Ionian coast.

The highest peaks in Italy are found in the [[Western Alps]], where there are numerous peaks that exceed {{convert|4000|meters}} including [[Monte Rosa]] ({{convert|4634|meters|disp=or}}), the [[Matterhorn|Cervino]] ({{convert|4478|meters|disp=or}}) and Mont Blanc which with its {{convert|4810|meters}}. The maximum height of the Apennines is the [[Gran Sasso d'Italia]] ({{convert|2912|meters|disp=or}}).

Famous mountains in Italy are Monte Cervino ([[Matterhorn]]), [[Monte Rosa]], [[Gran Paradiso]] in the West Alps, and [[Bernina Range|Bernina]], [[Stelvio Pass|Stelvio]] and [[Dolomites]] along the eastern side of the Alps.

===Hills===
[[File:Uliveti monte cinto.JPG|thumb|[[Euganean Hills]]]]
The hills cover most of the Italian territory. They are mainly located in the central-southern part of the peninsula,<ref name=Colline>{{cite book|first=Gianfranco|last=Bresich|title=Iperlibro|publisher=Deagostini|year=2005|isbn=88-418-2169-8|page=252|language=it}}</ref> along the sides of the Apennine ridge, but also in the pre-Alpine area, close to the Alps.<ref name=Colline />

The hilly reliefs, which alternate with hollows and valleys, have slight slopes and do not exceed {{convert|800|meters|disp=or}}.

The first two hilly systems are the subalpine hills and the Preappennino, two hilly strips arranged between the Alps and the Po Valley and between the Apennines and the Adriatic coast respectively.<ref name=Colli>{{cite book|first=Antonio|last=Londrillo|title=Alla scoperta della mia regione|publisher=Bulgarini|year=2004|isbn=88-234-2327-9|language=it|page=20}}</ref> The subalpine hills widen more in the western part of the Po Valley, where they form the hills of the [[Langhe]] and [[Montferrat]].<ref name=Colli /> Two other hill systems are the Tyrrhenian Anti-Apennine, which extends from the [[Colline Metallifere]] of Tuscany to [[Mount Vesuvius|Vesuvius]] and the Beneventane Hills in Campania, and the Adriatic Anti-Apennine, present in Puglia with the [[Altopiano delle Murge|Murge]] and [[Gargano]] hills.<ref name=Colli />

The Italian hills have different origins:

* The Langhe, Monferrato, [[Chianti (region)|Chianti]] and Murge are sedimentary hills<ref name=Colline /> formed by the lifting of the seabed.
* The Beneventane Hills are of tertiary formation, that is, composed of gravel stratifications or masses of pebbles mixed with limestone and sandstone, probably due to the raising of the lake bottom.
* The hills of [[Brianza]], of [[Canavese]] and more generally of the entire strip that runs at the foot of the Alps are morainic,<ref name=Colline /> that is, made up of deposits of earth and crushed stone transported by ancient glaciers.
* The [[Euganean Hills]] and numerous other formations in Tuscany, Lazio, Campania are of volcanic origin,<ref name=Colline /> i.e. they are the remains of ancient extinct volcanoes, rounded by a long erosion.

===Plains===
[[File:Marmilla las plassas.jpg|thumb|Plain of [[Campidano]]]]
The plains make up 23.2% of the Italian national territory. In between the two lies a [[Po Valley|large plain]] in the valley of the [[Po River|Po]], the largest river in Italy, which flows {{convert|652|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} eastward from the [[Cottian Alps]] to the Adriatic. The Po Valley is the largest plain in Italy, with {{convert|46,000|km2|abbr=on}}, and it represents over 70% of the total plain area in the country.<ref name=eug92 /> The Po Valley is divided into two bands:<ref name=Colli /> the high plain, which borders the Alpine and Apennine hills, and the low plain located in the center and extended up to the Po delta.

In the peninsular part and in the islands there are only small plains often located along the coasts and at the mouth of the major rivers, near which they formed:<ref name=Colli /> this is the case, for example, of the [[Tavoliere delle Puglie]], of the [[Campidano]] in Sardinia or the [[Maremma]] in Tuscany.<ref name=Colli />

The Italian plains have different origins:

* Most of it is of alluvial origin, that is, formed by the debris deposited by the rivers along their course. The Po Valley, [[Valdarno]], [[Pontine Marshes]], Campidano, [[Metapontino]], [[Plain of Sele]], [[Salento]], [[Plain of Sibari]], [[Plain of Catania]] and [[Plain of Sant'Eufemia]] are alluvial.<ref name=Pianure>{{cite book|first=Gianfranco|last=Bresich|title=Iperlibro|publisher=Deagostini|year=2005|isbn=88-418-2169-8|page=253|language=it}}</ref> 
* The second largest Italian plain is the Tavoliere delle Puglie,<ref name=Pianure /> which is a rising plain, formed from the raising of the seabed.
* Other plains, for example the [[Plain of Campania]], are of volcanic origin<ref name=Pianure /> where the ashes of the volcanoes have filled the surrounding valleys, transforming them into fertile plains.