SOIUSA code

{{main|SOIUSA}} '''SOIUSA code''' is the code used in the International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps (ISMSA or SOIUSA), a proposal by Italian Alpinist, Sergio Marazzi, to re-categorize the mountains and mountain ranges of the Alps. The proposal has been aired since 2005 but has yet to receive official recognition.

== SOIUSA groups' hierarchy== right|thumb|350px|SOIUSA pyramid showing its groups' hierarchy. SOIUSA divides the Alps in two main regions, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps. These two main regions are further divided in: *5 major sectors (SR); *36 sections (SZ); *132 subsections (STS); *333 supergroups (SPG); *870 groups (GR); *1625 subgroups (STG).

Using this system, any Alpine mountain can be given a code which shows which region, sector, section, subsection, supergroup, group and subgroup it belongs to.

==Encoding== SOIUSA code is built in the following way: * 2 main parts: ** Western Alps are identified by roman numeral '''I'''; ** Eastern Alps are identified by roman numeral '''II'''; * 5 major sectors: ** in Western Alps: *** South-western Alps are identified by upper-case letter '''A'''; *** North-western Alps are identified by upper-case letter '''B'''; ** in Eastern Alps: *** Central Eastern Alps are identified by upper-case letter '''A'''; *** Northern Limestone Alps are identified by upper-case letter '''B'''; *** Southern Limestone Alps are identified by lower-case letter '''C'''; * 36 sections: identified by numbers from 1 to 36 starting from Ligurian Alps and ending with Slovenian prealps; * 132 subsections: identified in their own section by the roman numerals needed to count every subsection; * 333 supergroups: identified in their own subsection by all the upper-case letters needed to count every supergroup; * 870 groups: identified in their own supergroup by all the numbers needed to count every group; * 1625 subgroups: identified in their own group by all the lower-case letters needed to count every subgroup.

Following these rules and using the punctuation marks ('''/'''; '''-'''; '''.'''; '''-'''; '''.''' and '''.''') a summit will be encoded in the following way:

''roman numeral'' (I or II) '''/''' ''upper-case letter'' (A, B or C) '''-''' ''number from 1 to 36'' '''.''' ''roman numeral'' '''-''' ''upper-case letter'' '''.''' ''number'' '''.''' ''lower-case letter''

In some case the final lower-case letter can be missing because some group is not divided into subgroups. <br> It can seldom happen (i.e.:Monte Tagliaferro) that a subgroup too is further divided in sectors; in that case the last lower-case letter is followed by a slash (''/'') and a second lower-case letter.

==Encoding example==

<div style="float:right; width:45%;"> {{window |title=SOIUSA parameters of <br> pointe Sommeiller (Fr) /<br> punta Sommeiller (It) |content= * main part = Western Alps * major sector = South Western Alps * section = Cottian Alps * subsection = Northern Cottian Alps * supergroup = chaîne Bernaude-Pierre Menue-Ambin (Fr) /<br> catena Bernauda-Pierre Menue-Ambin (It) * group = groupe d'Ambin (Fr) /<br> gruppo d'Ambin (It) * subgroup = crête Sommeiller-Vallonetto (Fr) / sottogruppo Sommeiller-Vallonetto (It) * code = I/A-4.III-B.6.b |col3=Black  |col1=lightblue |col2=white}} </div>

Pointe Sommeiller (Fr) / Punta Sommeiller (It) code is:

''' I/A-4.III-B.6.b'''

It can be decoded in the following way: * '''I''': the mountain belongs to ''Western Alps'', * '''A''': the mountain belongs to ''South Western Alps'', * '''4''': the mountain belongs to ''Cottian Alps'', * '''III''': the mountain belongs to ''Northern Cottian Alps'' (which are the third out of three subsections belonging to Cottian Alps), * '''B''': the mountain belongs to ''chaîne Bernaude-Pierre Menue-Ambin'' (Fr) / ''catena Bernauda-Pierre Menue-Ambin'' (It) (which is the second out of two supergroups belonging to Northern Cottian Alps), * '''6''': the mountain belongs to ''groupe d'Ambin'' (Fr) / ''gruppo d'Ambin'' (It) (which is the sixth out of six groups belonging to Bernaude-Pierre Menue-Ambin supergroup), * '''b''': the mountain belongs to a subgroup called ''crête Sommeiller-Vallonetto'' (Fr) / ''sottogruppo Sommeiller-Vallonetto'' (It) (which is the second out of three subgroups belonging to Ambin group).

==References== * {{cite book | last = Marazzi | first = Sergio | title = Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA | publisher = Priuli & Verlucca | year = 2005 | language = it | isbn = 978-88-8068-273-8 }}

Category:Alps Category:Encodings