The Alps mountain range includes sections of Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, Germany and Yugoslavia in its sweep. Extending from the Mediterranean to Vienna (a distance of some 750 miles), the range varies from 75 to 125 miles in breadth. The Alps are cut by numerous passes and permanently snowcapped peaks rise above the snow line. The effects of glaciation have created a distinctive mountain landscape of arêtes, cirques, matterhorns, U-shaped and hanging valleys and long moraine-blocked lakes. Below the snow line lies a treeless zone of pastures. See also Mont Blanc and the Chamonix Valley. See also Ruskin and the Alps.