eastern segment of the Central Alps lying mainly in the southern Tirol (western Austria) and partly in northern Italy. The mountains are bounded by the Rhaetian Alps and Reschenscheideck Pass (Italian Passo di Resia, west-southwest), the Inn River valley (north), the Zillertal Alps and Brenner Pass (east), and the Adige River valley (south). Many of the peaks are snow- and glacier-covered, including Wildspitze (12,382 feet 【3,774 m】), the highest point both in the range and in the Austrian Tirol. The Ötztaler Ache, a tributary of the Inn River, divides the main part of the range to the southwest from the Stubaier Alpen section to the northeast. The Ortles range across the Adige River in Italy is sometimes considered part of the Ötztal Alps.

In 1991 a frozen human body, estimated to be 5,300 years old, was discovered at the Hauslabjoch pass in the Ötztal Alps. The so-called Iceman was the oldest intact mummy ever discovered.