sentence-transformers/squad huggingface dataset:
Passage: The Alpine orogeny occurred in ongoing cycles through to the Paleogene causing differences in nappe structures, with a late-stage orogeny causing the development of the Jura Mountains. A series of tectonic events in the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods caused different paleogeographic regions. The Alps are subdivided by different lithology (rock composition) and nappe structure according to the orogenic events that affected them. The geological subdivision differentiates the Western, Eastern Alps and Southern Alps: the Helveticum in the north, the Penninicum and Austroalpine system in the center and, south of the Periadriatic Seam, the Southern Alpine system.

Question: What caused the development of the Jura Mountains?

Question: What cause different paleogeographic regions in the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods?

Question: What is another word for rock composition?

Question: What geological subdivision is located in the north?
Passage: According to geologist Stefan Schmid, because the Western Alps underwent a metamorphic event in the Cenozoic Era while the Austroalpine peaks underwent an event in the Cretaceous Period, the two areas show distinct differences in nappe formations. Flysch deposits in the Southern Alps of Lombardy probably occurred in the Cretaceous or later.

Question: What is Stefan Schmid's profession?

Question: What happened to the Western Alps during the Cenozoic Era

Question: When did the Austroalpine peaks undergo their event?

Question: The Western Alps and the Austroalpine peaks show distinct differences in what?

Question: When did Flysch deposits probably occur in the Southern Alps of Lombardy?
Passage: Peaks in France, Italy and Switzerland lie in the "Houillière zone", which consists of basement with sediments from the Mesozoic Era. High "massifs" with external sedimentary cover are more common in the Western Alps and were affected by Neogene Period thin-skinned thrusting whereas the Eastern Alps have comparatively few high peaked massifs. Similarly the peaks in Switzerland extending to western Austria (Helvetic nappes) consist of thin-skinned sedimentary folding that detached from former basement rock.

Question: What area do peaks in France, Italy, and Switzerland lie in?

Question: What are more common in the Western Alps?

Question: When compared to the Western Alps, what area has few high peaked massifs?
Passage: In simple terms the structure of the Alps consists of layers of rock of European, African and oceanic (Tethyan) origin. The bottom nappe structure is of continental European origin, above which are stacked marine sediment nappes, topped off by nappes derived from the African plate. The Matterhorn is an example of the ongoing orogeny and shows evidence of great folding. The tip of the mountain consists of gneisses from the African plate; the base of the peak, below the glaciated area, consists of European basement rock. The sequence of Tethyan marine sediments and their oceanic basement is sandwiched between rock derived from the African and European plates.

Question: Layers of rock from Europe, Africa and the ocean make up what?

Question: What is the origin of the bottom nappe structure?

Question: Where are the top of the nappes derived from?

Question: What is an example of the ongoing orogeny?
Passage: The core regions of the Alpine orogenic belt have been folded and fractured in such a manner that erosion created the characteristic steep vertical peaks of the Swiss Alps that rise seemingly straight out of the foreland areas. Peaks such as Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and high peaks in the Pennine Alps, the Briançonnais, and Hohe Tauern consist of layers of rock from the various orogenies including exposures of basement rock.

Question: What happened to the Alpine orogenic belt that gave it the steep vertical peak?

Question: Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and peaks in the Pennine Alps cosist of what?

Question: What are the common characteristics of the Alpine Orogenic Belt?
Passage: The Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) has defined a list of 82 "official" Alpine summits that reach at least 4,000 m (13,123 ft). The list includes not only mountains, but also subpeaks with little prominence that are considered important mountaineering objectives. Below are listed the 22 "four-thousanders" with at least 500 m (1,640 ft) of prominence.

Question: What group defined a list of 82 official Apline summits that reach 4,000m?

Question: What is included in the list of 82 official Apline summits other than Mountains?

Question: The list of twenty two summits has summits with at least how much prominence?
Passage: While Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786, most of the Alpine four-thousanders were climbed during the first half of the 19th century; the ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. Karl Blodig (1859–1956) was among the first to successfully climb all the major 4,000 m peaks. He completed his series of ascents in 1911.

Question: When was Mont Blanc first climbed?

Question: When were most of the Alpine fourthousanders climber?

Question: When was the ascent of the Matterhorn?

Question: What did the ascent of the Matterhorn mark?

Question: Who was among the first to successfully climb all the major 4,000m peaks?
Passage: The first British Mont Blanc ascent was in 1788; the first female ascent in 1819. By the mid-1850s Swiss mountaineers had ascended most of the peaks and were eagerly sought as mountain guides. Edward Whymper reached the top of the Matterhorn in 1865 (after seven attempts), and in 1938 the last of the six great north faces of the Alps was climbed with the first ascent of the Eiger Nordwand (north face of the Eiger).

Question: When was the first British Mont Blanc ascent?

Question: When was the first female ascent on Mont Blanc?

Question: When had Swiss mountaineers ascended most of the peaks?

Question: What year did Edward Whymper reach the top of the Matterhorn?

Question: When were the last of the six great north faces of the Alps climbed?
Passage: The Alps are a source of minerals that have been mined for thousands of years. In the 8th to 6th centuries BC during the Hallstatt culture, Celtic tribes mined copper; later the Romans mined gold for coins in the Bad Gastein area. Erzberg in Styria furnishes high-quality iron ore for the steel industry. Crystals are found throughout much of the Alpine region such as cinnabar, amethyst, and quartz. The cinnabar deposits in Slovenia are a notable source of cinnabar pigments.

Question: What have been mined in the Alps for thousands of years?

Question: What did Celtic tribes mine from the Alps?

Question: What did the Romans mine in the Bad Gastein area?

Question: What does Erzberd in Styria furnish?

Question: The cinnabar deposits are found in what area?
Passage: Alpine crystals have been studied and collected for hundreds of years, and began to be classified in the 18th century. Leonhard Euler studied the shapes of crystals, and by the 19th century crystal hunting was common in Alpine regions. David Friedrich Wiser amassed a collection of 8000 crystals that he studied and documented. In the 20th century Robert Parker wrote a well-known work about the rock crystals of the Swiss Alps; at the same period a commission was established to control and standardize the naming of Alpine minerals.

Question: How long have Alpine crystals been studied and collected?

Question: When did the alpine crystals begin to be classified?

Question: Who studied the shapes of crystals?

Question: By the 19th century what was common in the Alpine regions?

Question: Who amassed a collection 8000 crystals?
Passage: In the Miocene Epoch the mountains underwent severe erosion because of glaciation, which was noted in the mid-19th century by naturalist Louis Agassiz who presented a paper proclaiming the Alps were covered in ice at various intervals—a theory he formed when studying rocks near his Neuchâtel home which he believed originated to the west in the Bernese Oberland. Because of his work he came to be known as the "father of the ice-age concept" although other naturalists before him put forth similar ideas.

Question: Where did the mountains undergo serve erosion?

Question: What was the cause of the severe erosion?

Question: Who noted the severe erosion of the mountains?

Question: What was Louis Agassiz also known as?
Passage: Agassiz studied glacier movement in the 1840s at the Unteraar Glacier where he found the glacier moved 100 m (328 ft) per year, more rapidly in the middle than at the edges. His work was continued by other scientists and now a permanent laboratory exists inside a glacier under the Jungfraujoch, devoted exclusively to the study of Alpine glaciers.

Question: Where did Agassiz study during the 1840s?

Question: Agassiz found that the Unteraar Glacier moved how much per year?

Question: The movement of the Unteraar Glacier moved more rapidly in what part?
Passage: Glaciers pick up rocks and sediment with them as they flow. This causes erosion and the formation of valleys over time. The Inn valley is an example of a valley carved by glaciers during the ice ages with a typical terraced structure caused by erosion. Eroded rocks from the most recent ice age lie at the bottom of the valley while the top of the valley consists of erosion from earlier ice ages. Glacial valleys have characteristically steep walls (reliefs); valleys with lower reliefs and talus slopes are remnants of glacial troughs or previously infilled valleys. Moraines, piles of rock picked up during the movement of the glacier, accumulate at edges, center and the terminus of glaciers.

Question: What is an example of a valley carved by glaciers during the ice ages?

Question: What lays at the bottom of the Inn Valley

Question: The top of the Inn Valley consists of what?

Question: What are Moraines?

Question: Where have moraines accumulated?
Passage: Alpine glaciers can be straight rivers of ice, long sweeping rivers, spread in a fan-like shape (Piedmont glaciers), and curtains of ice that hang from vertical slopes of the mountain peaks. The stress of the movement causes the ice to break and crack loudly, perhaps explaining why the mountains were believed to be home to dragons in the medieval period. The cracking creates unpredictable and dangerous crevasses, often invisible under new snowfall, which cause the greatest danger to mountaineers.

Question: How do Piedmont glaciers appear?

Question: What causes the ice to break and crack loudly?

Question: What does the cracking of the ice create?
Passage: Glaciers end in ice caves (the Rhone Glacier), by trailing into a lake or river, or by shedding snowmelt on a meadow. Sometimes a piece of glacier will detach or break resulting in flooding, property damage and loss of life. In the 17th century about 2500 people were killed by an avalanche in a village on the French-Italian border; in the 19th century 120 homes in a village near Zermatt were destroyed by an avalanche.

Question: What causes flooding, property damage, and loss of life?

Question: What killed about 2500 people in the 17th century?

Question: How many homes in a village near Zermatt were destroyed by an avalanche in the 19th century?
Passage: High levels of precipitation cause the glaciers to descend to permafrost levels in some areas whereas in other, more arid regions, glaciers remain above about the 3,500 m (11,483 ft) level. The 1,817 square kilometres (702 sq mi) of the Alps covered by glaciers in 1876 had shrunk to 1,342 km2 (518 sq mi) by 1973, resulting in decreased river run-off levels. Forty percent of the glaciation in Austria has disappeared since 1850, and 30% of that in Switzerland.

Question: What cause the glaciers to descend to permafrost levels in some areas?

Question: From 1876 to 1973, how much did the glaciers that covered the Alps shrink?

Question: What resulted from the loss of the area the glaciers over the Alps?

Question: How much of the glaciation in Austria disappeared?

Question: How much of the glaciation disappeared in Switzerland?
Passage: The Alps provide lowland Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. Although the area is only about 11 percent of the surface area of Europe, the Alps provide up to 90 percent of water to lowland Europe, particularly to arid areas and during the summer months. Cities such as Milan depend on 80 percent of water from Alpine runoff. Water from the rivers is used in over 500 hydroelectricity power plants, generating as much as 2900 kilowatts of electricity.

Question: What provides Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power?

Question: How much of Europe does the Alps cover?

Question: How much water does the Alps provide to lowland Europe?

Question: How much water does Milan depend on from the Alpine runoff?

Question: Water from the rivers is used in over how many hydroelectric power plants?
Passage: Major European rivers flow from Switzerland, such as the Rhine, the Rhone, the Inn, the Ticino and the Po, all of which have headwaters in the Alps and flow into neighbouring countries, finally emptying into the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. Other rivers such as the Danube have major tributaries flowing into them that originate in the Alps. The Rhone is second to the Nile as a freshwater source to the Mediterranean Sea; the river begins as glacial meltwater, flows into Lake Geneva, and from there to France where one of its uses is to cool nuclear power plants. The Rhine originates in a 30 square kilometre area in Switzerland and represents almost 60 percent of water exported from the country. Tributary valleys, some of which are complicated, channel water to the main valleys which can experience flooding during the snow melt season when rapid runoff causes debris torrents and swollen rivers.

Question: The Rhine, the Rhone, the Inn, the Ticino and the Po rivers flow from what Country?

Question: Where do the major tributaries that flow through the Danube originate from?

Question: Which river is second to the Nile as a freshwater source to the Mediterranean?

Question: What does The Rhone begin as?

Question: Where does the Rhine originate?
Passage: The rivers form lakes, such as Lake Geneva, a crescent shaped lake crossing the Swiss border with Lausanne on the Swiss side and the town of Evian-les-Bains on the French side. In Germany, the medieval St. Bartholomew's chapel was built on the south side of the Königssee, accessible only by boat or by climbing over the abutting peaks.

Question: Where is the medieval St. Bartholomew Chapel located?

Question: What side of the Konigssee was St. Bartholomew's chapel built?

Question: What do the rivers form?
Passage: Scientists have been studying the impact of climate change and water use. For example, each year more water is diverted from rivers for snowmaking in the ski resorts, the effect of which is yet unknown. Furthermore, the decrease of glaciated areas combined with a succession of winters with lower-than-expected precipitation may have a future impact on the rivers in the Alps as well as an effect on the water availability to the lowlands.

Question: Who have been studying the impact of climate change and water use?

Question: Water is diverted from rivers for what purpose?

Question: What are the effects of diverting the water from rivers?
Passage: The Alps are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher-elevation terrain. Elevations around the world that have cold climates similar to those of the polar regions have been called Alpine. A rise from sea level into the upper regions of the atmosphere causes the temperature to decrease (see adiabatic lapse rate). The effect of mountain chains on prevailing winds is to carry warm air belonging to the lower region into an upper zone, where it expands in volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of temperature, often accompanied by precipitation in the form of snow or rain. The height of the Alps is sufficient to divide the weather patterns in Europe into a wet north and a dry south because moisture is sucked from the air as it flows over the high peaks.

Question: What are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher-elevation terrain?

Question: Elevations around the world that have a cold climate similar to that of the polar region have been called what?

Question: What causes the temperature to decrease?

Question: What is sufficient to divide the weather patterns in Europe into a wet north and dry south?
Passage: The severe weather in the Alps has been studied since the 18th century; particularly the weather patterns such as the seasonal foehn wind. Numerous weather stations were placed in the mountains early in the early 20th century, providing continuous data for climatologists. Some of the valleys are quite arid such as the Aosta valley in Italy, the Maurienne in France, the Valais in Switzerland, and northern Tyrol.

Question: Since when has the severe weather in the Alps been studied?

Question: Particularly what part of the weather has been studied?

Question: What was placed in the mountains early in the 20th century?

Question: Where is the Aosta valley located?

Question: Where is the Valais located?
Passage: The areas that are not arid and receive high precipitation experience periodic flooding from rapid snowmelt and runoff. The mean precipitation in the Alps ranges from a low of 2,600 mm (100 in) per year to 3,600 mm (140 in) per year, with the higher levels occurring at high altitudes. At altitudes between 1,000 and 3,000 m (3,281 and 9,843 ft), snowfall begins in November and accumulates through to April or May when the melt begins. Snow lines vary from 2,400 to 3,000 m (7,874 to 9,843 ft), above which the snow is permanent and the temperatures hover around the freezing point even July and August. High-water levels in streams and rivers peak in June and July when the snow is still melting at the higher altitudes.

Question: What areas experience periodic flooding from rapid snowmelt and runoff?

Question: What are the ranges of mean precipitation in the Alps?

Question: Where do the higher levels of precipitation occur?

Question: At what altitude does snowfall begin in November?
Passage: The Alps are split into five climatic zones, each with different vegetation. The climate, plant life and animal life vary among the different sections or zones of the mountains. The lowest zone is the colline zone, which exists between 500 and 1,000 m (1,640 and 3,281 ft), depending on the location. The montane zone extends from 800 to 1,700 m (2,625 to 5,577 ft), followed by the sub-Alpine zone from 1,600 to 2,400 m (5,249 to 7,874 ft). The Alpine zone, extending from tree line to snow line, is followed by the glacial zone, which covers the glaciated areas of the mountain. Climatic conditions show variances within the same zones; for example, weather conditions at the head of a mountain valley, extending directly from the peaks, are colder and more severe than those at the mouth of a valley which tend to be less severe and receive less snowfall.

Question: How many zones are the Alps split into?

Question: What is the lowest zone of the Alps called?

Question: Where does the lowest zone of the Alps exist?

Question: Where does the montane zone extend from?

Question: Where does the sub-Alpine zone extend from?
Passage: Various models of climate change have been projected into the 22nd century for the Alps, with an expectation that a trend toward increased temperatures will have an effect on snowfall, snowpack, glaciation, and river runoff.

Question: What has been projected into the 22nd century for the Alps?

Question: What will have an effect on snowfall, snowpack, glaciation, and river runoff?

Question: What have the various models been of?
Passage: Thirteen thousand species of plants have been identified in the Alpine regions. Alpine plants are grouped by habitat and soil type which can be limestone or non-calcerous. The habitats range from meadows, bogs, woodland (deciduous and coniferous) areas to soilless scree and moraines, and rock faces and ridges. A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief deciduous trees—oak, beech, ash and sycamore maple. These do not reach exactly to the same elevation, nor are they often found growing together; but their upper limit corresponds accurately enough to the change from a temperate to a colder climate that is further proved by a change in the presence of wild herbaceous vegetation. This limit usually lies about 1,200 m (3,940 ft) above the sea on the north side of the Alps, but on the southern slopes it often rises to 1,500 m (4,920 ft), sometimes even to 1,700 m (5,580 ft).

Question: How many species of plants have been identified in the Alpine regions?

Question: How are Alpine plants grouped?

Question: Oak, beech, ash, and sycamore maple make up what group of trees?
Passage: Above the forestry, there is often a band of short pine trees (Pinus mugo), which is in turn superseded by Alpenrosen, dwarf shrubs, typically Rhododendron ferrugineum (on acid soils) or Rhododendron hirsutum (on alkaline soils). Although the Alpenrose prefers acidic soil, the plants are found throughout the region. Above the tree line is the area defined as "alpine" where in the alpine meadow plants are found that have adapted well to harsh conditions of cold temperatures, aridity, and high altitudes. The alpine area fluctuates greatly because of regional fluctuations in tree lines.

Question: What is often above the forestry?

Question: What type of soil does Alpenrose prefer?

Question: What is the area above the treeline defined as?

Question: Why does the alpine area fluctuate greatly?
Passage: Alpine plants such the Alpine gentian grow in abundance in areas such as the meadows above the Lauterbrunnental. Gentians are named after the Illyrian king Gentius, and 40 species of the early-spring blooming flower grow in the Alps, in a range of 1,500 to 2,400 m (4,921 to 7,874 ft). Writing about the gentians in Switzerland D. H. Lawrence described them as "darkening the day-time, torch-like with the smoking blueness of Pluto's gloom." Gentians tend to "appear" repeatedly as the spring blooming takes place at progressively later dates, moving from the lower altitude to the higher altitude meadows where the snow melts much later than in the valleys. On the highest rocky ledges the spring flowers bloom in the summer.

Question: What grows in abundance in areas such as the meadows above the Lauterbrunnental?

Question: What are Gentians named after?

Question: How many species of the early-spring blooming flower grow in the Alps?
Passage: At these higher altitudes, the plants tend to form isolated cushions. In the Alps, several species of flowering plants have been recorded above 4,000 m (13,120 ft), including Ranunculus glacialis, Androsace alpina and Saxifraga biflora. The Eritrichium nanum, commonly known as the King of the Alps, is the most elusive of the alpine flowers, growing on rocky ridges at 2,600 to 3,750 m (8,530 to 12,303 ft). Perhaps the best known of the alpine plants is the Edelweiss which grows in rocky areas and can be found at altitudes as low as 1,400 m (4,593 ft) and as high as 3,400 m (11,155 ft). The plants that grow at the highest altitudes have adapted to conditions by specialization such as growing in rock screes that give protection from winds.

Question: What do the plants tend to form at higher altitudes?

Question: Ranunculus glacialis have been recorded to have been found how far in the alps?

Question: What is Eritrichium nanum commonly known as?

Question: What is the best known of the alpine plants?
Passage: The extreme and stressful climatic conditions give way to the growth of plant species with secondary metabolites important for medicinal purposes. Origanum vulgare, Prunella vulgaris, Solanum nigrum and Urtica dioica are some of the more useful medicinal species found in the Alps.

Question: What gives way to the growth of plant species with secondary metabolites important for medicinal purposes?

Question: Origanum Vulgare has what useful properties?

Question: Where are Urtica dioica found?