Morphosculpture of the North-Western Alpes

Abstract

Remnants of ancient (Mesozoic) buried planation surfaces give evidence of the early erosion stages at the North-Western Alpes. Stream pattern changes took place at Oligocene, the single system being divided into rivers of the Central Massif and Pre-Alpes. During the Quaternary the old glaciers activity was most important. Most pronounced were changes within the northern part of the «Alpine trough» adjacent to the Mont Blanc. Climatic variations were of importance during the post glacial, especially for morphogenesis in the high mountain zone.