Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Alps shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Alps offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Alps at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Alps? Wrong! If the Alps is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Alps then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Alps? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Alps and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Alps wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Alps then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Alps site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Alps, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Alps, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Geobox|Range| name=Alps|native_name=| image=MountBlanc03.jpg| image_caption=Mont Blanc, seen from the Aiguille du Midi systems of [Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. The word "Alps" was taken via French language from Latin Alpes (meaning "the Alps"), which may be influenced by the Latin words albus (white) or altus (high) or more likely a Latin rendering of a Celtic languages or Ligurian language original.

The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc, at , on the French-Italian border. All the main peaks of the Alps can be found in the list of mountains of the Alps and list of Alpine peaks by prominence.

Geography Subdivision above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace., south of Salzburg, AustriaThe Alps are generally divided into the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps. The division is along the line between Lake Constance and Lake Como, following the Rhine. The Western Alps are higher, but their central chain is shorter and curved; they are located in Italy, France and Switzerland. The Eastern Alps (main ridge system elongated and broad) belong to Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Switzerland. The highest peaks of the Western Alps are Mont Blanc, , Mont Blanc de Courmayeur , the Dufourspitze and the other summits of the Monte Rosa group, and the Dom (mountain), . The highest peak in the Eastern Alps is Piz Bernina, .

The Eastern Alps are commonly subdivided according to the different lithology (rock composition) of the more central parts of the Alps and the groups at its northern and southern fringes: The border between the Central Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps is the Periadriatic Seam. The Northern Limestone Alps are separated from the Central Eastern Alps by the Graywacke zone.

The Western Alps are commonly subdivided with respect to geography: Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chain of the Alps, including the French Prealps. (See Geography of the Alps.)

The geologic subdivision is different and makes no difference between the Western and Eastern Alps: helvetic nappes in the north, Penninic nappes and Austroalpine nappes in the centre and south of the Periadriatic seam the Southern Alps (geology) and parts of the Dinarides (see Geology of the Alps).

Main chain The "main chain of the Alps" follows the watershed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Wienerwald, passing over many of the highest and most famous peaks in the Alps. From the Colle di Cadibona to Col de Tende it runs westwards, before turning to the north-west and then, near the Colle della Maddalena, to the north. Upon reaching the Swiss border, the line of the main chain heads approximately east-north-east, a heading it follows until its end near Vienna.

Principal passes The Alps do not form an impassable barrier; they have been traversed for war and commerce, and later by pilgrims, students and tourists. Crossing places by road, train or foot are called passes. These are depressions in the mountains to which a valley leads from the plains and hilly pre-mountainous zones.

Climate The Alps are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher elevation terrain. Elevations around the world which have cold climates similar to those found in polar region areas have been called Alpine climate. A rise from sea level into the upper regions of the Earth's atmosphere causes the temperature adiabatic lapse rate. The effect of mountain chains on prevailing winds is to carry warm air belonging to the lower region into an upper zone, where it expands in volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of heat, often accompanied by the precipitation (meteorology) of moisture in the form of snow or rain.

Geology The Alps arose as a result of the pressure exerted on sediments of the Tethys Ocean basin as its Mesozoic and early Cenozoic Stratum were pushed against the stable Eurasian landmass by the northward-moving African landmass. Most of this occurred during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. The pressure formed great recumbent folds, or nappes, that rose out of what had become the Tethys Sea and pushed northward, often breaking and sliding one over the other to form gigantic thrust Geologic faults. Basement (geology), which are exposed in the higher central regions, are the rocks forming Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and high peaks in the Pennine Alps and Hohe Tauern.

The landscape seen today is mostly formed by glaciation during the past two million years. At least five ice ages have done much to change the region, scooping out the lakes and rounding off the limestone hills along the northern border. Glaciers have been retreating during the past 10,000 years, leaving large granite Glacial erratic scattered in the forests in the region. As the last ice age ended, it is believed that the climate changed so rapidly that the glaciers retreated back into the mountains in a span of about 200 to 300 years.

Political and cultural history Little is known of the early dwellers in the Alps, save from the scanty accounts preserved by Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece historians and geographers. A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus.

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by various Germanic peoples from the 5th century to the 6th century are known only in outline, because to them, as to the Frankish kings and emperors, the Alps offered a route to other places rather than a permanent residence.

It is not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th century and 11th century that it becomes possible to trace out the local history of the Alps.

Exploration The higher regions of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers (as distinguished from Alpine climbers) began to visit these valleys. The two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were H.B. de Saussure (1740-1799) in the Pennine Alps, and the Benedictine monk of Disentis, Placidus a Spescha (1752-1833), most of whose ascents were made before 1806, in the valleys at the sources of the Rhine.

Flora A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief deciduous trees — oak, beech, Ash tree and sycamore maple. These do not reach exactly to the same elevation, nor are they often found growing together; but their upper limit corresponds accurately enough to the change from a temperate to a colder climate that is further proved by a change in the wild herbaceous vegetation. This limit usually lies about above the sea on the north side of the Alps, but on the southern slopes it often rises to , sometimes even to .

This region is not always marked by the presence of the characteristic trees. Human interference has nearly exterminated them in many areas, and, except for the beech forests of the Austrian Alps, forests of deciduous trees are rarely found. In many districts where such woods once existed, they have been replaced by the Scots pine and Norway spruce, which are less sensitive to the ravages of goats, who are the worst enemies of such trees. The mean annual temperature of this region differs little from that of the British Islands; but climatic conditions are widely different. In the Alps, snow usually stays for several months, until spring and summer, which are considerably warmer on average than those seasons in Britain.

Above the forestry, there is often a band of short pine trees (Pinus mugo), which is in turn superseded by dwarf shrubs, typically Rhododendron ferrugineum (on acid soils) or Rhododendron hirsutum (on basic soils). Above this is the alpine meadow, and even higher, the vegetation becomes more and more sparse. At these higher altitudes, the plants tend to form isolated cushions. In the Alps, several species of flowering plants have been recorded above , including Ranunculus glacialis, Androsace alpina and Saxifraga biflora.

Image:Kosodrzewina (Sosna górska) Pinus mugo mugo.jpg])Image:Rhododendron ferrugineum.JPG|rusty-leaved Alpenrose
(Rhododendron ferrugineum)Image:Leontopodium alpinum1.jpg])Image:Gentiana acaulis.jpg|stemless gentian
(Gentiana acaulis)Image:Chamorchis_alpina_230705b.jpg])Image:Pulsatilla_alpina_schneebergensis.jpg|Alpine pasque-flower
(Pulsatilla alpina)Image:Androsace alpina02.jpg])Image:Ranunculus_glacialis.jpg|glacier buttercup
(Ranunculus glacialis)

Fauna Species common to the Alps. These are most numerously found in the 15% of the List of national parks of the Alps.

Image:Parnassius pheobus.jpg|Alpine Apollo ButterflyImage:Salamandra atra.jpg]

Image:Plochacz 3001xx.jpg|Alpine AccentorImage:Alpenkauw2.jpg]Image:Auerhahn mg-k.jpg|CapercaillieImage:Aquila chrysaetos large drawing.jpg]Image:Ptarmigan9.jpg|PtarmiganImage:Aegolius-funereus-001.jpg]

Image:Iiiiibed.jpg|Alpine IbexImage:Marmota marmota Alpes2.jpg]Image:Rupicapra rupicapra 0.jpg|ChamoisImage:Arctic Hare.jpg]

See also

External links

{{Geobox|Range| name=Alps|native_name=| image=MountBlanc03.jpg| image_caption=Mont Blanc, seen from the Aiguille du Midi systems of [Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. The word "Alps" was taken via French language from Latin Alpes (meaning "the Alps"), which may be influenced by the Latin words albus (white) or altus (high) or more likely a Latin rendering of a Celtic languages or Ligurian language original.

The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc, at , on the French-Italian border. All the main peaks of the Alps can be found in the list of mountains of the Alps and list of Alpine peaks by prominence.

Geography Subdivision above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace., south of Salzburg, AustriaThe Alps are generally divided into the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps. The division is along the line between Lake Constance and Lake Como, following the Rhine. The Western Alps are higher, but their central chain is shorter and curved; they are located in Italy, France and Switzerland. The Eastern Alps (main ridge system elongated and broad) belong to Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Switzerland. The highest peaks of the Western Alps are Mont Blanc, , Mont Blanc de Courmayeur , the Dufourspitze and the other summits of the Monte Rosa group, and the Dom (mountain), . The highest peak in the Eastern Alps is Piz Bernina, .

The Eastern Alps are commonly subdivided according to the different lithology (rock composition) of the more central parts of the Alps and the groups at its northern and southern fringes: The border between the Central Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps is the Periadriatic Seam. The Northern Limestone Alps are separated from the Central Eastern Alps by the Graywacke zone.

The Western Alps are commonly subdivided with respect to geography: Series of lower mountain ranges run parallel to the main chain of the Alps, including the French Prealps. (See Geography of the Alps.)

The geologic subdivision is different and makes no difference between the Western and Eastern Alps: helvetic nappes in the north, Penninic nappes and Austroalpine nappes in the centre and south of the Periadriatic seam the Southern Alps (geology) and parts of the Dinarides (see Geology of the Alps).

Main chain The "main chain of the Alps" follows the watershed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Wienerwald, passing over many of the highest and most famous peaks in the Alps. From the Colle di Cadibona to Col de Tende it runs westwards, before turning to the north-west and then, near the Colle della Maddalena, to the north. Upon reaching the Swiss border, the line of the main chain heads approximately east-north-east, a heading it follows until its end near Vienna.

Principal passes The Alps do not form an impassable barrier; they have been traversed for war and commerce, and later by pilgrims, students and tourists. Crossing places by road, train or foot are called passes. These are depressions in the mountains to which a valley leads from the plains and hilly pre-mountainous zones.

Climate The Alps are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher elevation terrain. Elevations around the world which have cold climates similar to those found in polar region areas have been called Alpine climate. A rise from sea level into the upper regions of the Earth's atmosphere causes the temperature adiabatic lapse rate. The effect of mountain chains on prevailing winds is to carry warm air belonging to the lower region into an upper zone, where it expands in volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of heat, often accompanied by the precipitation (meteorology) of moisture in the form of snow or rain.

Geology The Alps arose as a result of the pressure exerted on sediments of the Tethys Ocean basin as its Mesozoic and early Cenozoic Stratum were pushed against the stable Eurasian landmass by the northward-moving African landmass. Most of this occurred during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. The pressure formed great recumbent folds, or nappes, that rose out of what had become the Tethys Sea and pushed northward, often breaking and sliding one over the other to form gigantic thrust Geologic faults. Basement (geology), which are exposed in the higher central regions, are the rocks forming Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and high peaks in the Pennine Alps and Hohe Tauern.

The landscape seen today is mostly formed by glaciation during the past two million years. At least five ice ages have done much to change the region, scooping out the lakes and rounding off the limestone hills along the northern border. Glaciers have been retreating during the past 10,000 years, leaving large granite Glacial erratic scattered in the forests in the region. As the last ice age ended, it is believed that the climate changed so rapidly that the glaciers retreated back into the mountains in a span of about 200 to 300 years.

Political and cultural history Little is known of the early dwellers in the Alps, save from the scanty accounts preserved by Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece historians and geographers. A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus.

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by various Germanic peoples from the 5th century to the 6th century are known only in outline, because to them, as to the Frankish kings and emperors, the Alps offered a route to other places rather than a permanent residence.

It is not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th century and 11th century that it becomes possible to trace out the local history of the Alps.

Exploration The higher regions of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers (as distinguished from Alpine climbers) began to visit these valleys. The two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were H.B. de Saussure (1740-1799) in the Pennine Alps, and the Benedictine monk of Disentis, Placidus a Spescha (1752-1833), most of whose ascents were made before 1806, in the valleys at the sources of the Rhine.

Flora A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief deciduous trees — oak, beech, Ash tree and sycamore maple. These do not reach exactly to the same elevation, nor are they often found growing together; but their upper limit corresponds accurately enough to the change from a temperate to a colder climate that is further proved by a change in the wild herbaceous vegetation. This limit usually lies about above the sea on the north side of the Alps, but on the southern slopes it often rises to , sometimes even to .

This region is not always marked by the presence of the characteristic trees. Human interference has nearly exterminated them in many areas, and, except for the beech forests of the Austrian Alps, forests of deciduous trees are rarely found. In many districts where such woods once existed, they have been replaced by the Scots pine and Norway spruce, which are less sensitive to the ravages of goats, who are the worst enemies of such trees. The mean annual temperature of this region differs little from that of the British Islands; but climatic conditions are widely different. In the Alps, snow usually stays for several months, until spring and summer, which are considerably warmer on average than those seasons in Britain.

Above the forestry, there is often a band of short pine trees (Pinus mugo), which is in turn superseded by dwarf shrubs, typically Rhododendron ferrugineum (on acid soils) or Rhododendron hirsutum (on basic soils). Above this is the alpine meadow, and even higher, the vegetation becomes more and more sparse. At these higher altitudes, the plants tend to form isolated cushions. In the Alps, several species of flowering plants have been recorded above , including Ranunculus glacialis, Androsace alpina and Saxifraga biflora.

Image:Kosodrzewina (Sosna górska) Pinus mugo mugo.jpg])Image:Rhododendron ferrugineum.JPG|rusty-leaved Alpenrose
(Rhododendron ferrugineum)Image:Leontopodium alpinum1.jpg])Image:Gentiana acaulis.jpg|stemless gentian
(Gentiana acaulis)Image:Chamorchis_alpina_230705b.jpg])Image:Pulsatilla_alpina_schneebergensis.jpg|Alpine pasque-flower
(Pulsatilla alpina)Image:Androsace alpina02.jpg])Image:Ranunculus_glacialis.jpg|glacier buttercup
(Ranunculus glacialis)

Fauna Species common to the Alps. These are most numerously found in the 15% of the List of national parks of the Alps.

Image:Parnassius pheobus.jpg|Alpine Apollo ButterflyImage:Salamandra atra.jpg]

Image:Plochacz 3001xx.jpg|Alpine AccentorImage:Alpenkauw2.jpg]Image:Auerhahn mg-k.jpg|CapercaillieImage:Aquila chrysaetos large drawing.jpg]Image:Ptarmigan9.jpg|PtarmiganImage:Aegolius-funereus-001.jpg]

Image:Iiiiibed.jpg|Alpine IbexImage:Marmota marmota Alpes2.jpg]Image:Rupicapra rupicapra 0.jpg|ChamoisImage:Arctic Hare.jpg]

See also

External links



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