SOIUSA

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title: "SOIUSA" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountain-ranges-of-the-alps", "alps"] topic_path: "general/mountain-ranges-of-the-alps" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOIUSA" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

thumb|[[Alps]] by SOIUSA.

SOIUSA (an acronym for Suddivisione Orografica Internazionale Unificata del Sistema Alpino - English: International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA) is a classification system of the Alps from the geographic and toponomastic point of view. It was designed by Sergio Marazzi, Italian researcher and author of the Orographic Atlas of the Alps SOIUSA. His book was presented with the patronage of the Italian Alpine Club on 23 Jan 2006, but has yet to receive any formal acceptance.

History

The SOIUSA is an interpretation by Marazzi of the terrain of the Alps aiming to replace the traditional way the Alps were partitioned in Italy, the Partizione delle Alpi, which was adopted in 1926 by the Italian National Geographic Committee (Comitato Geografico Nazionale) after the IX Italian Geographic Congress (Congresso Geografico Italiano). SOIUSA takes into account the European geographic literature normalizing and standardizing the different national classification systems in use. It was publicly presented in a lecture organized by the Italian Alpine Club's Milan conference on 6 April 2006, following the publication of Marazzi's book.

Structure

thumb|[[Pyramid]] by SOIUSA. The SOIUSA introduces the bipartition of the Alpine System (Western Alps and Eastern Alps) replacing the old tripartite division (Western Alps, Central Alps and Eastern Alps) by a multilevel pyramidal hierarchy according to identical scales and rules.

Mountain groups higher level: fractionated with morphological and altimetric benchmark taking into account the historical and geographical regions in the Alps.

• 2 main parts (PT) (de:Teile; fr:grandes parties; it:parti; sl:dela):
  • Western Alps and Eastern Alps.
• 5 major sectors (SR) (de:Sektoren; fr:grands secteurs; it:settori; sl:velikih sektorjev):
  • the occidental part is divided into two areas from south to north and then northeast: Southwestern Alps and Northwestern Alps;
  • the oriental part is divided into three areas from west to east: Central Eastern Alps, North Eastern Alps, South Eastern Alps.
• 36 sections (SZ) (de:Sektionen; fr:sections; it:sezioni; sl:sekcij).
• 132 subsections (STS) (de:Untersektionen; fr:sous-sections; it:sottosezioni; sl:podsekcij).

Mountain groups lower level: divided with a benchmark mountaineering.

• 333 supergroups (SPG) (de:Supergruppen; fr:super-groupes; it:supergruppi; sl:nadskupina).
• 870 groups (GR) (de:Gruppen; fr:groupes; it:gruppi; sl:skupine).
• 1625 subgroups (STG) (de:Untergruppen; fr:sous-groupes; it:sottogruppi; sl:podskupine).

Relative sectors (SR) intermediate to the groups above are also defined:

• 31 sectors of sections (SR of SZ)
• 30 sectors of subsections (SR of STS)
• 18 sectors of supergroups (SR of SPG)
• 7 sectors of groups (SR of GR)
• 409 sectors of subgroups (SR of STG)

To any alpine mountain can be assigned a SOIUSA code, which shows to what part, sector, section, subsection, supergroup, group and subgroup the mountain belongs.

Example: :{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" | SOIUSA parametres for Pointe Sommeiller (Fr) / Punta Sommeiller (It) are: Main part:Western Alps Major sector:Southwestern Alps Section:Cottian Alps Subsection:Northern Cottian Alps Supergroup:chaîne Bernaude-Pierre Menue-Ambin (Fr) / catena Bernauda-Pierre Menue-Ambin (It) Group:groupe d'Ambin (Fr) / gruppo d'Ambin (It) Subgroup:crête Sommeiller-Vallonetto (Fr) / sottogruppo Sommeiller-Vallonetto (It) Code:I/A-4.III-B.6.b |}

Naming

Names of higher level groups are given in the four main languages spoken in the Alps (German, French, Italian, Slovene) and in English, while lower level groups are just named in the language/languages of the concerned country/countries.

Examples: :{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" | Northern Cottian Alps subsection (STS.4.III ) is also called: Nördliche Cottishche Alpen (De), Alpes du Mont Cenis (Fr), Alpi del Moncenisio (It), Severne Kotijske Alpe (Sl).

Ambin group, located on the French-Italian border, is just referred as: Groupe d'Ambin (Fr) and Gruppo d'Ambin (It). |}

Western Alps

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/SOIUSA-Alpi_Occidentali.png" caption="SOIUSA western Alps' sections."] ::

From the line Savona - Bocchetta di Altare - Montezemolo - Mondovì to the line Rhine - Splügen Pass - Lake Como - Lake Lecco; they are divided in 14 sections (in brackets their highest summit).

Southwestern Alps

• 1. Ligurian Alps (Punta Marguareis, 2661 m)
• 2. Maritime Alps (Monte Argentera, 3297 m)
• 3. Provence Alps and Prealps (Tête de l'Estrop, 2961 m)
• 4. Cottian Alps (Monviso, 3841 m)
• 5. Dauphiné Alps (Barre des Écrins, 4102 m)
• 6. Dauphiné Prealps (Grande Tête de l'Obiou, 2790 m)

Northwestern Alps

• 7. Graian Alps (Mont Blanc, 4810 m)
• 8. Savoy Prealps (Haute Cime des Dents du Midi, 3257 m)
• 9. Pennine Alps (Monte Rosa, 4634 m)
• 10. Lepontine Alps (Monte Leone, 3552 m)
• 11. Lugano Prealps (Pizzo di Gino, 2245 m)
• 12. Bernese Alps i.t.w.m. (Finsteraarhorn, 4274 m)
• 13. Glarus Alps i.t.w.m. (Tödi, 3620 m)
• 14. Swiss Prealps (Schilthorn, 2970 m)

Eastern Alps

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/SOIUSA-Alpi_Orientali.png" caption="SOIUSA eastern Alps' sections."] ::

From the line Rhine - Splügen Pass - Lake Como - Lake Lecco to the line Vienna-Sopron-Köszeg-Graz-Maribor and Godovič Pass; they are divided in 22 sections (in brackets their highest summit).

Central-eastern Alps

• 15. Western Rhaetian Alps (Piz Bernina, 4049 m)
• 16. Eastern Rhaetian Alps (Wildspitze, 3772 m)
• 17 Western Tauern Alps (Großglockner, 3798 m)
• 18. Eastern Tauern Alps (Hochgolling, 2863 m)
• 19. Carinthian-Styrian Alps (Eisenhut, 2441 m)
• 20. Styrian Prealps (Ameringkogel, 2184 m)

Northeastern Alps

• 21. North Tyrol Limestone Alps (Parseierspitze, 3040 m)
• 22. Bavarian Alps (Großer Krottenkopf, 2657 m)
• 23. Tyrol Schistose Alps (Lizumer Reckner, 2884 m)
• 24. Northern Salzburg Alps (Hochkönig, 2941 m)
• 25. Salzkammergut and Upper Austria Alps (Hoher Dachstein, 2993 m)
• 26. Northern Styrian Alps (Hochtor, 2369 m)
• 27. Northern Lower Austria Alps (Hochstadl, 1919 m)

Southeastern Alps

• 28. Southern Rhaetian Alps (Ortler, 3905 m)
• 29. Bergamasque Alps and Prealps (Pizzo di Coca, 3052 m)
• 30. Brescia and Garda Prealps (Monte Cadria, 2254 m)
• 31. Dolomites (Marmolada, 3342 m)
• 32. Venetian Prealps (Col Nudo, 2472 m)
• 33. Carnic and Gailtal Alps (Monte Coglians, 2780 m)
• 34. Julian Alps and Prealps (Triglav, 2864 m)
• 35. Carinthian-Slovenian Alps (Grintovec, 2558 m)
• 36. Slovenian Prealps (Porezen, 1630 m)

References and footnotes

Sources

• Marazzi, Sergio; Grimm, Peter; Mattmüller, Claus R; Zahn, Paul; Jurgalski, Eberhard (2004), Die Gebirgsgruppen der Alpen:Ansichten, Systematiken und Methoden zur Einteilung der Alpen. Die orographischen einteilungen der Alpen und die IVOEA, German and Austrian Alpine Clubs, (German/English) Munich, pp. 69–96 .
• Marazzi, Sergio (1991). Atlante orografico del monte Bianco, Priuli & Verlucca.
• Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA, Priuli & Verlucca, .
• Marazzi, Sergio (2012). *SOIUSA - Suddivisione orografica internazionale unificata del Sistema Alpino *, on-line article at www.fioridimontagna.it, accessed on 7 Feb 2012

References

1. Marazzi (2005), p. 55
2. ''Milano: con il patrocinio del CAI presentato l'Atlante Origrafico delle Alpi'', notice about the book presentation, Press Office of the Italian Alpine Club, [http://www.corverde.it/archivio06/atlanteorografico.html www.corverde.it] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-22 , accessed in May 2012)
3. ''Archivio veneto'', VV.AA., Deputazione di storia patria per le Venezie, 1971
4. SOIUSA conference, Milan, [http://www.losportitaliano.it/2006/news/mar06/alpinismo4.htm#soiusa www.losportitaliano.it], notice about the IAC conference including the SOIUSA lecture, accessed in May 2012
5. Marazzi (2012)
6. ''Lake Lecco'' is the name of the southeastern branch of [[Lake Como]], ending with the city of [[Lecco]]
7. (2017). "Landscapes and Landforms of Italy". [[Springer Publishing.

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