The Alps

The Alps mountain range towers over many regions of Western Europe with Mont Blanc at 15,771 feet being the highest peak on the continent. These mountains are the source of many legends. The stories begin with Hannibal, the North African general who led elephants and an army of 40,000 soldiers through the Alps in 218 b.c. to attack Rome, and include the von Trapp family, who escaped over the Alps from Nazi soldiers during World War II. More recently, a perfectly preserved frozen mummy of a man who lived 5,000 years ago was found in the ice of Germany's Alps.