The territory of Abruzzo is, roughly, the shape of a semicircle with a diameter of about 150 kilometres. The coastline, 129 kilometres long, stretches from the river Tronto to the Trigno and constitutes the eastern boundary of the region, while the North borders with Marche, the South with Molise and the West with Lazio. The land boundaries of the region are 467 kilometres long altogether. The regional territory covers 10,794 square kilometres, the majority of which (65.1%, 7,027 square kilometres) is mountainous. 34.9% is constituted by hills. The statistics do not mention the plains. Near the coast, in fact, there are no plains, whereas in the inland there are a few, in the river's valley bottoms and also at high altitudes. The largest plain, the Piana del Fucino, can be considered "artificial" because it was the result of the drying up of the lake Fucino in the last century. The territory of the four provinces of Abruzzo is divided in very different altimetric areas. The province of L'Aquila is totally characterized by mountains; in the Chieti area hills prevail, while in Pescara and Teramo the areas covered by mountains are more or less the same as those covered by hills. The coastline of Abruzzo is varied, where the low and sandy shores to the north contrast with the inclined shores to the south. Le sette sorelle (seven sisters), seven seaside resorts in the province of Teramo, from Martinsicuro to Silvi, the Pescara and the Francavilla al Mare beaches, offer high level accomodation, night-clubs, and in Pescara itself, even a modern marina. To the south the scenery changes radically: from Ortona to Vasto and as far as S. Salvo, sloping shores surrounded by the rich Mediterranean vegetation appear on the coastline. They too, are well equipped for a pleasant holiday. The nostalgic fishing past emerges between S. Vito and Fossacesia, where the travocchi, singular fishing huts built on piles, are still today used by the local fishermen. During the winter, the Abruzzo mountains offer to the keen snow-lovers numerous possibilities for downhill, cross-country, and alpine sluing, and, the latest passion of the youngsters, the snowboard. Winter tourism has changed radically the life of the many towns that realised the need to change and have made "snow" their enterprise. The highest number of winter resorts can be found in the L'Aquila province, but the Teramo side of Gran Sasso and the Majella also offer a good level of facilities. There are 22 winter resorts and a few words on each one of these is necessary.