VANOISE NATIONAL PARK (July 2011)

The Graian Alps (Italian: Alpi Graie; French: Alpes Grées) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in France (Savoie), Italy (Piedmont and the Aosta Valley), and Switzerland (western Valais).

The Col des Montets separates them from the Chablais Alps; the Col Ferret and the Dora Baltea valley separate them from the Pennine Alps; the Col du Mont Cenis separates them from the Cottian Alps; the Arc valley separates them from the Dauphiné Alps.

The Graian Alps can be divided into four groups:
the Mont Blanc group (north of the Little St Bernard Pass)
the Central group between the Little St Bernard Pass and the Col du Mont Cenis
the Western or French group, contains the Vanoise National Park
the Eastern or Italian group, contains the Gran Paradiso national park.

The French side of the Graian Alps is drained by the river Isère (Tarentaise valley) and its tributary Arc (Maurienne valley), and by the Arve. The Italian side is drained by the rivers Dora Baltea, Orco and Stura di Lanzo, tributaries of the Po.

Vanoise National Park (French: Parc national de la Vanoise), is a French national park in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, created in 1963 after mobilization from the environmentalist movement against a touristic project. It was the first French national park. This park is in the département of Savoie. Little villages like Champagny-le-Haut, Champagny-le-Bas, La Chiserette, La Cuaz, Le Bois, Friburge and Séez are near this park.

The park is bordered by several large French ski resorts (Les Trois Vallées, Tignes, Val-d'Isère, Les Arcs, La Plagne).

On the Italian side of the border, the park is continued by the Gran Paradiso National Park. Together, these two parks cover over 1250 km².

The park is well-known for its population of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), bouquetins in French. Other than Alpine ibex there are Chamois, Alpine Marmot, Eurasian Lynx, Mountain Hare and Stoat. Birds include Bearded Vulture, Golden Eagle and Black Grouse.