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that enclose the so-called Italian val-leys of Monte Rosa . The naturallimits of the district are, therefore,defined, on the N. side, by the twobranches of the Visp torrent. Fol-lowing the W. branch through theZermatt valley, crossing the St. Th£o-dule, descending by the Val Tour-nanche to Chatillon, and followingthe Dora Baltea to Ivrea , the linepasses round the base of the foot hillsto Arona: it then passes along theW. shore of the Lago Maggiore , andup the Tosa valley to Piedimulera,whence it ascends the Val Anzascato Macugnaga, and crossing theMonte Moro to Saas completes thelong circuit by descending the Saas valley to Stalden. Within the lineso traced, exceeding 300 m. in length,all the ranges properly belonging tothis group are included, with theaddition of the Matterhorn , the famouspeak which takes its name from thevillage of Zermatt , at its foot, nowthe chief centre of the entire district,largely owing to the fame and magni-ficence of its great peak.
It cannot fail to strike the readerwho examines a map of this districtthat the direction of the ranges andof the depressions offers a markedcontrast to that prevailing throughoutthe adjoining regions of the Alps .Save in a small part of the Italian valleys, the direction here is eitherparallel or perpendicular to themeridian. The mass of Monte Rosa itself (although its actual highest pointis not at the intersection of the tworanges to be named, but rises some-what to the N., where the N. andS. range is intersected by a shorttransverse rib, parallel to the mainK. and W. range) is best consideredas the intersection of a great N. andS. ridge (extending from the Balfrinthrough the Saasgrat, most of thehighest peaks of Monte Rosa , theVincent Pyramide, and the range onthe E. of the Val de Lys nearly toTvrea) with the transverse range lyingbetween the Dent d’Herens and thePizzo Bianco, near Macugnaga. It
is worthy of remark that all the minorridges on the N. side of the politicalfrontier are parallel to the latterrange; it is sufficient to point outthe corresponding depressions occu-pied by the glaciers of Gorner , Fin-delen, Mellichen, ICien, &c.
Although the peak of Mont Blanc overtops by over 500 ft. any peakin the Monte Rosa range, yet theaverage height of the latter rangegreatly exceeds that of its westernrival; for the three highest summitsof Monte Rosa surpass 15,000 ft.,and three others lie between 14,000and 15,000 ft., while within the samelimits are the four highest summits ofthe Saasgrat and the Lvskamm, inaddition to the neighbouring summitsof the Weisshorn, the Matterhorn , andthe Dent Blanche. The same infer-ence may be drawn from a comparisonof the passes, for, with one or twoexceptions, all the highest passes yet '•effected in the Alps cross the ridgesof the Monte Rosa group.
It is the opinion of many of themost competent judges that for gran-deur, beauty, and variety the valleysdescending from Monte Rosa areentitled to pre-eminence over everyother portion of the Alps , and, per-haps, if we regard the union of thosethree elements, over every othermountain region in the world. Natureis inexhaustible in the combinationof her attractions, and certainly thereare many other scenes in the Alps which may challenge comparison withwhatever is most grand and mostbeautiful; but one who would learnthoroughly to enjoy Nature in thoseaspects cannot do better than giveample time to the exploration of thedistrict included in this Section. Afterspending some weeks amid the sternerscenery of Zermatt and Saas , he willfind fresh loveliness in the marvellouscontrasts that abound in the valleyson the Italian side. A summer’s tourdevoted to this district, wherein caysof exertion, spent in gaining thehigher peaks, are made to alternate1 with days of repose, which need not*