Title: Mont Blanc massif - Wikipedia
Headings: Mont Blanc massif
Mont Blanc massif
Contents
Geography
Main peaks and ridges of the Mont Blanc massif
Summits
Glaciers
Geology
See also: Geology of the Alps
Minerals
Climate
Ecology
Flora
Fauna
Human history
Early history
Tourist beginnings
Modern tourism
Scientific research
Modern military history
Incidents and tragedies
Access
Mountain huts
Environmental protection
Espace Mont Blanc
Protected statuses
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

Content: it also marks the border between two climate regions by separating the northern and western Alps from the southern Alps. The mountains of the massif consist mostly of granite and gneiss rocks and at high altitudes the vegetation is an arctic-alpine flora. The valleys that delimit the massif were used as communication routes by the Romans until they left around the 5th century AD. The region remained of some military importance through to the mid-20th century. A peasant farming economy operated within these valleys for many centuries until the glaciers and mountains were "discovered" by the outside world in the 18th century. Word of these impressive sights began to spread, and Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786, marking the start of the sport of mountaineering. The region is now a major tourist destination, drawing in over six million visitors per year. It provides a wide range of opportunities for outdoor recreation and activities such as sight-seeing, hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering and skiing. Around one hundred people a year die across its mountains and, occasionally, bodies have been lost and entombed in its glaciers for decades. Access into the mountains is facilitated by cable cars, mountain railways and mountain huts which offer overnight refuge to climbers and skiers.