The Maritime Alps are a mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 in the southwestern part of the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

. They form the border between the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 département Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...

 and the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 province of Cuneo

Province of Cuneo

ayr is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ....

. The Col de Tende

Col de Tende

Col de Tende is a high mountain pass in the Alps, on the border of France and Italy.It separates the Maritime Alps from the Ligurian Alps. It connects Nice and Tende in Alpes-Maritimes with Cuneo in Piedmont....

 separates them from the Ligurian Alps

Ligurian Alps

The Ligurian Alps are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. A small part is located in France. They form the south-western extremity of the Alps, separated from the Apennines by the Colle di Cadibona. The Col de Tende separates them from the Maritime Alps...

; the Maddalena Pass

Maddalena Pass

The Maddalena Pass is a high mountain pass between the Cottian Alps and the Maritime Alps, located on the border between Italy and France. It connects Barcelonnette in France with Cuneo in Italy...

 separates them from the Cottian Alps

Cottian Alps

The Cottian Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France and Italy...

. The Mercantour National Park

Mercantour National Park

Mercantour National Park is one of the nine national parks of France. Since it was created in 1979, the Mercantour Park has proven popular, with 800,000 visitors every year enjoying the 600 km of marked footpaths and visiting its villages.-Extent:...

 is part of the Maritime Alps.

The Maritime Alps are drained by the rivers Roya, Var

Var River

The Var is a river located in the southeast of France. The name Var originates from the Ligurian word for waterway.The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes département for most of its length, with a short stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département...

 and Verdon

Verdon River

The Verdon is a 166 km long river in south-eastern France, left tributary of the Durance. Its source is at an altitude of 2819 m, in the south-western Alps , between the col d'Allos and the Trois Eveches mountain, south of Barcelonnette...

 and their tributaries on the French side; by the Stura di Demonte

Stura di Demonte

Stura di Demonte is a 111 km long river in northwestern Italy . It is a tributary to the river Tanaro, which is a tributary of the river Po. Its source is in the Alps, near the border with France. It flows through Demonte and Cuneo before joining the Tanaro just east of Cherasco....

 and other tributaries of the Tanaro

Tanaro River

The Tanaro , known as Tanarus in ancient times, is a 276 km-long river in northwestern Italy. It rises in the Ligurian Alps, close to the border with France and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drainage basin and discharge.-Source:The Tanaro proper...

 and Po

Po River

The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...

 on the Italian side. There are many attractive perched villages, such as Belvédère

Belvédère

Belvédère is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. The village of Belvédère is an attractive village sitting above the river Vésubie at the entrance of the Gordolasque valley.-Population:-History:-The Bronze Age:...

 at the entrance to the spectacular Gordolasque

Gordolasque

The Gordolasque is a mountain river that flows from the Mercantour National Park in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. Its source is in the Maritime Alps, near the Italian border...

 valley, some concealing unexpected architectural riches (for example in the south there are numerous churches decorated with murals and altar pieces by primitive Niçois

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 painters).

Peaks

The chief peaks of the Maritime Alps are:

Name	Elevation
Monte Argentera Monte Argentera Monte Argentera is a mountain in the Maritime Alps, in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont, northern Italy. With an elevation of , it is the highest peak in the range....	3297 m
Monte Stella	3262 m
Cime du Gélas Cime du Gélas Cime du Gélas is a 3,143 m high mountain on the boundary between France and Italy . It is part of the Maritime Alps....	3135 m
Cima di Masta	3108 m
Monte Matto Monte Matto Monte Matto is a 3,097 m high mountain in Piedmont, in the province of Cuneo. It is part of the Maritime Alps, dividing the Maris and Gesso della Valletta valleys....	3097 m
Mont Pelat	3053 m
Mont Clapier	3046 m
Mont Ténibre	3032 m
Cime de l'Enchastraye	2955 m
Mont Bégo Mont Bégo Mont Bégo is a mountain in the Mercantour massif of the Maritime Alps, in southern France, with an altitude of . It is included in the Vallée des Merveilles ....	2872 m
Mont Mounier	2818 m
Roche de l'Abisse	2755 m

Passes

The chief passes

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 of the Maritime Alps are:

Name	Location	Type	Elevation
Col de la Bonette Col de la Bonette Col de la Bonette is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence...	Tinée Valley to Barcelonnette Barcelonnette Barcelonnette is a commune in the Ubaye Valley, in the southern French Alps, in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, of which it is a subprefecture.-History:...	Road, minor loop off Col de Restefond Col de Restefond Col de Restefond is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated on the flanks of le Restefonde within the Mercantour National Park in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence....	2802
Col de Restefond Col de Restefond Col de Restefond is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated on the flanks of le Restefonde within the Mercantour National Park in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence....	Col de la Bonette Col de la Bonette Col de la Bonette is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence...  to Barcelonnette Barcelonnette Barcelonnette is a commune in the Ubaye Valley, in the southern French Alps, in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, of which it is a subprefecture.-History:...	Road	2680
Bassa di Druos	Tinée Valley to Terme di Valdieri	Bridle path	2630
Colle di Ciriegia	Saint-Martin-Vésubie Saint-Martin-Vésubie Saint-Martin-Vésubie is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.-History:San Martin first appears in recorded history in the 12th century, although there are archaeological remnants of a Romanized indigenous population dating back to the 1st century.The medieval castrum,...  to Terme di Valdieri	Bridle path	2551
Col des Granges Communes	Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860....  to Barcelonnette	Bridle path	2512
Col de Pourriac	Tinee Valley to Argentera Argentera Argentera is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southwest of Turin and about 60 km west of Cuneo, on the border with France. It consists of a series of sparse hamlets in the upper Valle Stura di Demonte...	Foot path	2506
Colle di Guercia	Tinee Valley to Vinadio Vinadio Vinadio is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southwest of Turin and about 30 km southwest of Cuneo, on the border with France...	Foot path	2451
Col de la Lombarde Col de la Lombarde Col de la Lombarde is a high mountain pass above the ski resport of Isola 2000 on the border between France and Italy.-Details of the climb:...	Isola Isola, Alpes-Maritimes Isola is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. By April 2010 Isola is officially twinned with Castiglione di Garfagnana....  to Vinadio	Road	2350
Col de la Cayolle Col de la Cayolle Col de la Cayolle is a high mountain pass in the French Alps at the border between the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France.It connects Barcelonnette in the Ubaye Valley and Saint-Martin-d'Entraunes....	Var River Var River The Var is a river located in the southeast of France. The name Var originates from the Ligurian word for waterway.The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes département for most of its length, with a short stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département...  valley to Barcelonnette	Road	2327
Col du Sabion	Tende Tende Tende is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.-Geography:Tende is located within Mercantour National Park in the French Alps. The mountainous commune is bordered by Italy to the north, with the boundary determined by the watershed line between the two countries...  to Valdieri Valdieri Valdieri is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southwest of Turin and about 15 km southwest of Cuneo, on the border with France...	Bridle path	2264
Col d'Allos Col d'Allos Col d'Allos is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France.It connects Barcelonnette in the Ubaye Valley and Colmars and goes on to the Col des Champs....	Verdon River Verdon River The Verdon is a 166 km long river in south-eastern France, left tributary of the Durance. Its source is at an altitude of 2819 m, in the south-western Alps , between the col d'Allos and the Trois Eveches mountain, south of Barcelonnette...  valley to Barcelonnette	Road	2250
Maddalena Pass Maddalena Pass The Maddalena Pass is a high mountain pass between the Cottian Alps and the Maritime Alps, located on the border between Italy and France. It connects Barcelonnette in France with Cuneo in Italy...	Barcelonnette to Cuneo Cuneo Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...	Road	1995
Col de Tende Col de Tende Col de Tende is a high mountain pass in the Alps, on the border of France and Italy.It separates the Maritime Alps from the Ligurian Alps. It connects Nice and Tende in Alpes-Maritimes with Cuneo in Piedmont....	Tende to Cuneo	Road, road tunnel Railway tunnel	1873
Col de Turini Col de Turini Col de Turini is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-Maritimes in France. It lies near Sospel, between the communes of Moulinet and La Bollène-Vésubie in the Arrondissement of Nice.It is famous for a stage of the Monte Carlo Rally which is held on the tight road with its...	Vésubie Vésubie The Vésubie is a river located in the southeast of France. It is a left tributary of the Var River in the Maritime Alps. The source is in the Mercantour National park near the border with Italy. The river flows through the town of Saint-Martin-Vésubie which is a major center for hiking...  river valley to Sospel Sospel Sospel is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France near the Italian border and not far from Monte Carlo.-History:...	Road	1607