that extensive range of mountains traversing the entire extent of the Italian peninsula, and forming, as it were, the backbone of that country. They detach themselves from the maritime Alps, and pursue a general course, first in an easterly and afterwards in a south-south-easterly direction, till towards their extremity they divide to embrace the Gulf of Taranto. From the main chain numerous branches extend towards the Mediterranean and the Adriatic. This chain is inferior in beauty and grandeur to some of the other mountain ranges of Europe; being destitute of the glaciers and vertical needles of the Alps, the sharp peaks of the Pyrenees, or the rocky cliffs and escarpments of the Jura Mountains. Nowhere do they reach the snow line, though some of their summits are covered with snow during a great part of the year. Their mean height is about 4000, and their highest point, Monte Corno, or Il gran sasso d'Italia, the great rock of Italy, is 10,154 feet high; Monte Amaro, the highest point of Monte Mazzella, is 9131 feet high, and Monte Velino 8207 feet. The chain is little cultivated, and abounds with fine oaks and other kinds of trees; and the valleys are generally small and narrow. Almost all the rivers of Peninsular Italy take their rise in this range, but most of them are, with the exception of the Arno and the Tiber, little more than mountain torrents.

The name Apennines is probably of Celtic origin, and derived from pen, properly signifying the head, but also used for the summit of a mountain. By the Greek and Latin writers the name is generally used in the singular, as Apeninus Mons, 'O Ἀπεννίνος τῷ Ἀπεννίνῳ ὄρος.' The name may have been originally applied only to a particular mountain, and have afterwards been extended to include the whole chain.

The Apennines may be considered as a southern branch of the great Alpine system of Europe, and indeed there is no real separation between them; which has caused great differences of opinion among both ancient and modern geographers as to the point where the Alps terminate and the Apennines begin. Strabo, who gives a very accurate account of the general features and direction of this chain, considers it as beginning in the vicinity of Genoa, and in this he is nearly followed by many modern geographers who place its commencement between that town and Savona, in Apennines the valley of Bormida. The more natural commencement, however, seems to be at Col de Tenda, in Long. 7° 40' N. From Col de Tenda they run in a semicircle round the Gulf of Genoa in a general direction from west to east; they afterwards turn to the south and traverse the whole of the Italian peninsula to the Strait of Messina. The entire length of the chain is about 840 geographical miles, lying between Lat. 38. and 44. N. and Long. 7. 40. and 18. 20. E. They are divided into the Northern, Central, and Southern Apennines.

The Northern Apennines are separated from the Maritime Alps by the Tanaro and the Roya, which have their sources in Monte Cassino, and extend to Monte Coronaro. This division comprehends three subdivisions. The first, extending to Monte Bocchetta, proceeds first in an easterly direction, and afterwards, turning to the north-east, runs almost parallel to the western coast of the Gulf of Genoa, which it approaches so closely as to leave little more than a mere passage. The principal passes here, between Piedmont and the duchy of Genoa, are through the valleys of the Tanaro, the Bormida, and the Lemme. From Bocchetta the second subdivision extends in an eastern, and afterwards in a south-eastern direction to the mountain summit, under which the Reno rises. Its highest summits are the Lopotorto, Gotro, and Jorame, in which rise the Trebbia, Taro, and Seccchia, affluents of the Po. The chief passes are those of Bofiloro Cento-Casoci, Pontremoli, Bratello, Fiumalbo, and Monte Carelli or Pietra-Mala. This subdivision forms the spacious bays of Rapallo and Spezia, and its deep ravines and precipitous sides are characteristics which distinguish it from the rest of the chain. The third subdivision extends in a south-south-east direction to Monte Coronaro. The principal summits here are the Piano and the Falterone. The only pass worthy of notice is that proceeding from the valley of the Lieve, over Borgo di San Lorenzo, through the valley of the Lamore, and on towards Faenza.

The Central Apennines comprehend that part of the chain between Monte Coronaro, in which the Tiber rises, and Monte Velino, north of Lake Fucino. Its general direction is from north-west to south-south-east, and nearly parallel to the Tiber. The descent towards the Adriatic is continuous and direct, but towards the Mediterranean it forms two distinct inclined planes. The principal passes from the north are at the village of Scheggia, over a connecting ridge between Mounts Corno and Cucco, where the Cantiano, an affluent of the Metauro rises; at Seravalle, south-east of Monte Pennino, at the head of the valley of the Chienti, a small river flowing into the Adriatic; at Castelluccio between Norcia and Arquato; and finally, the principal pass between Rieti and Aquila, to the east of Antrodoco.

The Southern Apennines include the remaining portion of this chain. From Monte Velino they proceed in a south-easterly direction to Acerenza in Basilicata, where they divide into two unequal branches, the eastern proceeding through the provinces of Bari and Otranto, and terminating at Cape Santa Maria di Leuca; the other, or western branch, running through Calabria to Cape dell' Armi on the Strait of Messina. In the upper part of the southern Apennines a number of sharp pyramidal points raise themselves above the mountain chain. Among these are Monte Forcone at the source of the Sangro, Monte Sant' Angelo, above the sources of the Volturno and Trigno, and Monte Calvello north-east of Salerno. The principal passes over this part of the Apennines are the pass of Sulmona, near the sources of the Volturno, so called from the town of Sulmona where the roads from Rome, Pescara, and Aquils The Sub-Vesuvian Apennines derive their name from the Vesuvius volcano which, with Somma, are the principal mountains of this group, and from which ramifications proceed in several directions. The only passage is that of Fornia or Claudina, near Monte Sarchio, north-east of Naples, and on the road to Benevento. See Vesuvius.

The Apennines consist in part of white compact limestone containing no petrifications or other heterogeneous substances. This rock does not, however, prevail through the whole range. From its junction with the Alps to Florence the chain is composed of calcareous or slaty masses, and of a serpentine rock called gabbro or granitello. This last principally composes the summits of the Mountains of Genoa rising from the Gulf of Spezia. This part of the northern Apennines is generally considered to belong to the primitive formation, but some geologists contend that it belongs to the transition class with a large quantity of graywacke. The mountains extending from Florence to the Abruzzi and hence to Calabria, are composed of limestone analogous to that of the Jura range. In the last-mentioned province the central part of the chain is formed of granite, gneiss, and mica-schist, on which here and there repose some secondary deposits.

The Sub-Apennines belong to the tertiary formation, and are composed of marl, shale, gravel, sand, and conglomerate. Gypsum and calcareous and volcanic tufa are also seen here, but less frequently. Travertin, a limestone of recent formation, is found abundantly in the vicinity of Rome, and of it most of the edifices of that city are constructed. The volcanic mountains are all on the southwestern side of the chain, with only one exception (Monte Volfiore, near Melfi). The principal groups are those of Santa Fiora and Viterbo; that of Latium; those of Sant' Agatha and Rocca Monfina towards Sessa; and finally that of Naples. There is no active volcano except Vesuvius. Volcanic tufa forms a great part of the soil about Rome, and the Capitoline, Quirinal, Esquilin, Aventine, &c., are principally composed of it. Most of the lakes that surround Rome, as the Albano, Nemi, &c., occupy ancient craters. The environs of Modena abound in those small mud volcanoes called Salze. They sometimes disengage carburetted hydrogen gas, and often this is inflamed, as may be seen at Villela, Pietra Mala, and Barigazza. The Apennines contain few metals; the principal is iron, found in Tuscany, and particularly in the island of Elba. The coal mines are very unimportant, but there are extensive saliferous depots near Cosenza. The marbles of the Apennines, however, are justly celebrated for their beauty, as those of Carrara, the ancient Luni, Scravazza, and Sienna.