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The
Matterhorn (
German:
Matterhorn,
[ˈmatərˌhɔrn];
Italian:
Monte Cervino,
[ˈmonte tʃerˈviːno];
French:
Mont Cervin,
[mɔ̃ sɛʁvɛ̃]) is a
mountain of the
Alps, straddling the
main watershed and border between
Switzerland and
Italy. It is a huge and near-symmetrical
pyramidal peak in the extended
Monte Rosa area of the
Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high, making it
one of the highest summits in the Alps and
Europe.
[note 3] The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the
Hörnli,
Furggen,
Leone, and
Zmutt ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of
Zermatt, in the canton of
Valais, to the north-east and the Italian town of
Breuil-Cervinia in the
Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is
Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, and a trade route since the
Roman Era.
The Matterhorn was studied by
Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late eighteenth century, who was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as
John Ruskin, in the nineteenth century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The
first ascent of the Matterhorn was finally made in 1865 from Zermatt, by a party led by
Edward Whymper, but ended disastrously when four of its members fell to their deaths on the descent. That climb and disaster, later portrayed in
several films, marked the end of the
golden age of alpinism.
[2] The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is amongst the three
biggest north faces of the Alps, known as the "The Trilogy". The west face, which is the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn since the first climb in 1865, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world.
[3][
unreliable source?]
The Matterhorn is mainly composed of
gneisses (originally fragments of the
African Plate before the
Alpine orogeny) from the
Dent Blanche nappe, lying over
ophiolites and
sedimentary rocks of the
Penninic nappes. The mountain's current shape is the result of
cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak, such as the
Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face, forming a
horn.[
citation needed]
Sometimes referred to as the
Mountain of Mountains (
German: Berg der Berge),
[4][5] the Matterhorn has become an iconic emblem of the
Swiss Alps and of the
Alps in general. Since the end of the 19th century, when railways were built in the area, the mountain has attracted increasing numbers of visitors and climbers. Each year, numerous mountaineers try to climb the Matterhorn from the
Hörnli Hut via the northeast Hörnli ridge, the most popular route to the summit. Many trekkers also undertake the 10-day-long circuit around the mountain. The Matterhorn has been part of the
Swiss Federal Inventory of Natural Monuments since 1983.
Source: WikipediaThe model is created at a scale of 1:50,000 with 1.25x vertical exaggeration. It features a built-in base, so it sits perfectly on a desk or in a frame.
Model Data Sources: NASA