The Matter Valley is located in southwestern Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, south of the Rhone

Rhône

Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...

 valley in the canton of Valais

Valais

The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...

. The village of Zermatt

Zermatt

Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....

 is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surrounded by many four-thousanders, including the Matterhorn

Matterhorn

The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...

.

Geography

Located in the Pennine Alps

Pennine Alps

The Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...

, the Matter Valley is drained by the Matter Vispa, a tributary of the Rhone

Rhône

Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...

. The valley itself ends at Stalden where it meets the Saas Valley. The resulting valley continues for a few kilometres until it reaches the town of Visp

Visp

Visp is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-Geography:Visp has an area, , of . Of this area, 17.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 59.7% is forested...

 on the young river Rhone. The valley starts between the high summits south of Zermatt

Zermatt

Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....

 (Monte Rosa

Monte Rosa

The Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...

, Matterhorn

Matterhorn

The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...

) on the border with Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The upper side is glaciated, the second largest glacier of the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, the Gorner Glacier lies at the foot of Monte Rosa (4,634 m), while the Zmutt Glacier

Zmutt Glacier

The Zmutt Glacier is a long glacier situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of .-External links:*...

 lies at the foot of the Matterhorn (4,478 m). Around the village of Randa are located the Weisshorn

Weisshorn

The Weisshorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, in Switzerland. With its summit, it is one of the major peaks in the Alps and overtops the nearby Matterhorn by some 30 metres. It was first climbed in 1861 from Randa by John Tyndall, accompanied by the guides J.J...

 (4,505 m) and the Dom (4,545 m). The difference of height between the talweg and the summits on both side reaches over 3 km. The total length of the valley is about 40 km.

Settlements

Zermatt

Zermatt

Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....

 (1,600 m), with approx. 5,600 inhabitants, is the largest and highest town in the valley. St. Niklaus

St. Niklaus

St. Niklaus is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:St. Niklaus is first mentioned in 1233 as chousun. In 1272 it was mentioned as ecclesia Sancti Nicholai de Chouson, Gebreitun de Gazun, 1388 in villa sti nicolai de chosun, fr...

 follows with 2,400 inhabitants. Between them are located the smaller villages of Täsch

Täsch

Täsch is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is located about north of Zermatt. The local language is Swiss German.-History:Täsch is first mentioned in 1302 as Tech. In Latin it was known as Pera....

 and Randa. The villages of Grächen

Grächen

Grächen is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.The village is situated at an altitude of on a terrace above St. Niklaus in the Mattertal, north of the Mischabel range .-History:...

, Embd

Embd

Embd is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:Embd is first mentioned in 1250 as Emeda. In 1330 it was mentioned as Embda and Emda.-Geography:...

 and Törbel

Törbel

Törbel is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The highest point is the peak of the Augstbordhorns at .-Geography:...

 are located above the valley. Stalden, located at the end of the valley, is the lowest village (800 m).

Transport

Since the end of the nineteenth century the upper end of the valley is connected by rail from Visp

Visp

Visp is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-Geography:Visp has an area, , of . Of this area, 17.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 59.7% is forested...

 (Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn

Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn

The Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn is a narrow gauge railway in Switzerland. The track width is . It was created in 2003 through an amalgamation of Furka-Oberalp-Bahn and BVZ Zermatt-Bahn . The name comes from the Matterhorn and St...

). If the main road connect Zermatt from Visp, it cannot be used between Täsch and Zermatt, the latter being completely car-free.

Since 1930 the valley is directly connected to St. Moritz

St. Moritz

St. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...

 by the Glacier Express

Glacier Express

The Glacier Express is an express train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of St. Moritz and Zermatt in the Swiss Alps. The train is operated jointly by the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn and Rhaetian Railway...

panoramic train.