Editing Lepontine Alps (section)

==Geography==
Following the line marking the division of the waters that flow into the [[Po (river)|Po]] from those that feed the [[Rhone]] or the [[Rhine]], the main [[ridge]] of the Lepontine Alps describes a somewhat irregular curve, convex to the north, from the [[Simplon Pass]] to the [[Splügen Pass]]. With the single exception of the [[Monte Leone]], overlooking the Simplon Pass, the summits of this portion of the chain are much inferior in height to those of the neighbouring chains; but two peaks of the Adula group, culminating at the [[Rheinwaldhorn]], exceed {{convert|11000|ft|m}} in height.<ref name = Ball/>

The extensive region lying south of the main ridge is occupied by mountain ranges whose summits sometimes rival in height those of the dividing ridge, and which are cut through by deep valleys, three of which converge in the basins of [[Lake Maggiore]] and [[Lake Como]], the deepest of all the lakes on the south side of the Alps. The most important of these valleys is the [[Valle Leventina]], or the upper valley of the [[Ticino (river)|Ticino]]. This has been known from a remote antiquity because it leads to the [[St Gotthard Pass]], one of the easiest lines of communication between northern and southern Europe.

The Lepontine Alps are drained by the rivers [[Rhône (river)|Rhône]] in the west, [[Reuss (river)|Reuss]] in the north, [[Rhine]] (Anterior and Posterior Rhine) in the east and [[Ticino (river)|Ticino]] and [[Toce]] in the south.