Matterhorn

Matterhorn (mä'turhôrn) [key], Fr. Mont Cervin, Ital. Monte Cervino, peak, c.14,700 ft (4,480 m) high, in the Pennine Alps, on the Swiss-Italian border, near Zermatt. Its distinctive pyramidal peak was formed by the enlargement of several cirques. It was first scaled in 1865 by Edward Whymper, the English mountaineer. The nearby Matterjoch. (mä'turyôkh) [key] or Théodule (tāôdül') [key], a pass (alt. 10,800 ft/3,292 m), links Italy with Switzerland.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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