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The Alps, one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretch approximately across eight Alpine countries from Austria and Slovenia in the east, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, France to the west and Italy and Monaco to the south.

The Alps were formed over hundreds of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided ; the extreme compression caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentation rising and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

Mont Blanc spans the French – Italian border, and at is the highest mountain in the Alps.

The Alpine region area contains many peaks higher than, known as the " four-thousanders ".