From the French-Italian border region near the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps curve north and northeast as far as Vienna, Austria, forming a giant mountain spine that divides the central part of Western Europe into northern and southern portions. This division has done much to shape the nations, languages, and ways of life of Europe. Occupying roughly 68,000 square miles (176,000 square kilometers), the Alps fill most of Switzerland and Liechtenstein and extend into France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. The Austrian and Italian portions are commonly called the Tyrol. (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.)