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Swiss Alps
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The Swiss Alps ( , ) are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps.
The highest summit in the Swiss Alps is the Dufourspitze (4,634 metres (15,202 ft)) near the Swiss-Italian border. The highest mountain which lies entirely on Swiss territory is the Dom (4,545 metres (14,911 ft)).
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Encyclopedia
The Swiss Alps ( , ) are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps.
The highest summit in the Swiss Alps is the Dufourspitze (4,634 metres (15,202 ft)) near the Swiss-Italian border. The highest mountain which lies entirely on Swiss territory is the Dom (4,545 metres (14,911 ft)). Other main summits can be found in the list of mountains in Switzerland.
Introduction
The Alps cover 61% of Switzerland's surface area (41,285 km²), making her the second most alpine country after Austria. Despite the fact that Switzerland covers only 13.2% of the Alps total area (190,600 km²), many alpine four-thousanders (48 of 82) are located in the Swiss Alps and the remaining few are within 20 km of the country's border.
The glaciers of the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1230 km² (3% of the Swiss territory), representing 44% of the total glaciated area in the Alps (2800 km²).
Geography
The Swiss Alps are situated south of the Swiss plateau and north of the national border. The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are (from west to east): France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.
Subdivision
Like the Alps, the Swiss Alps can be divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from the lake Bodensee to the Splügen Pass (in Graubünden).
Western Alps
From west to east, south of Rhône and Rhine:
- Chablais Alps: Canton of Valais, separated from the Mont Blanc Massif by the Arve, the Dents du Midi are the highest summits.
- Graian Alps (Mont Blanc Massif): Canton of Valais, separated from the Pennine Alps by the Col Ferret. The Aiguille d'Argentière is the highest summit on the Swiss side.
- Pennine Alps (Valais Alps): Canton of Valais, separated from the Lepontine Alps by the Simplon Pass, contains the highest Swiss mountains, the Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa Massif, the Dom, the Weisshorn and the Matterhorn (38 summits over 4000 m).
- Lepontine Alps: Cantons of Valais, Ticino, Graubünden, separated from the Oberhalbstein Range by the Splügen Pass, contains the St. Gotthard Pass.
From west to east, north of Rhône and Rhine:
- Bernese Alps: Cantons of Bern,Valais, Vaud, Fribourg, separated from the Urner Alps by the Grimsel Pass, contains the Jungfrau and the north face of Eiger (9 summits over 4000 m).
- Urner Alps: Cantons of Uri, Bern, Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, separated from the Glarus Alps by the Reuss River.
- Glarus Alps: Cantons of Uri, Glarus, Graubünden, separated from the Appenzell Alps by the Seeztal.
- Appenzell Alps: Cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen.
Eastern Alps
All the following mountain ranges are situated in Graubünden. They are part of the Central Eastern Alps, except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps.
From west to east, north of Mera and Inn river:
From west to east, south of Mera and Inn river:
(*) situated out of the main chain
Hydrography
Lakes
Since the highest dams are located in Alpine regions, many large mountain lakes are artificial and are used as hydroelectric reservoirs. Some large artificial lakes can be found above 2,300 m, but natural lakes larger than 1 km² are generally below 1,000 m (with the exceptions of lakes in the Engadin such as Lake Sils, and Oeschinen in the Bernese Oberland). The melting of low-altitude glaciers can generate new lakes, such as the 0.25 km² large Triftsee which formed between 2002–2003.
Rivers
The waters flowing out of the Swiss Alps can end up in the North Sea, the western Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea or in the Black Sea. Switzerland possesses 6% of Europe's fresh water, and is sometimes referred to as the "water tower of Europe".
Triple watersheds:
Geology
With a few exceptions, the Alps north of Rhone and Rhine river are part of the Helvetic Zone (generally composed of hard crystalline rocks) and those on the south side are part of the Penninic nappes (mainly metamorphic rocks).
The last glaciations greatly transformed Switzerland’s landscape. Many valleys of the Swiss Alps are U-shaped due to glacial erosion. During the maximum extension of the Würm glaciation (18,000 years ago) the glaciers completely covered the Swiss Plateau, before retreating and leaving remnants only in high mountain areas. In modern times the Aletsch Glacier in the western Bernese Alps is the largest and longest in the Alps, having a length of 23 km and a maximum depth of 900 metres (2953 ft) at Konkordia. Along with the Fiescher and Aar Glaciers the region became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
Climate zones
As the temperature decreases with altitude (0,56°C per 100 metres on yearly average), three different altitudinal zones, each having distinct climate, are found in the Swiss Alps:
Subalpine zone
The Subalpine zone is the region which lies below the tree line. It is the most important region as it is the larger of the three and contains almost all human settlements as well as the productive areas. The forests are mainly composed by conifers above 1,200-1,400 metres, the deciduous tree forest being confined to lower elevations. The upper limit of the Subalpine zone is located at about 1,800 metres on the north side of the Alps and at about 2,000 metres on the south side. It can however differ in some regions such as the Appenzell Alps (1,600 metres) or the Engadin valley (2,300 metres).
Alpine zone
The Alpine zone (Tundra) is situated above the tree line and is exempt of tree because of low average temperatures. It contains mostly grass and small plants along with mountain flowers. Below the permafrost limit (at about 2,600 metres), the alpine meadows are often used as pastures. Some villages can still be found on the lowest altitudes such as Riederalp (1,940 m) or Juf (2,130 m). The extend of Alpine zone is limited by the first permanent snow, its altitude greatly vary depending on the location (and orientation), it is comprised between 2,800 and 3,200 metres.
Glacial zone
The glacial zone is the area of permanent snow and ice. When the stepness of the slope is not too high it results in an accumulation and compaction of snow, which transforms into ice. The glacier formed then flows down the valley and can reach as far down as 1,500 metres (the Upper Grindelwald Glacier). Where the slopes are too steep, the snow accumulates to form overhanging seracs, which periodically fall off due to the downwards movement of the glacier and cause ice avalanches. The Bernese Alps, Pennine Alps and Mont Blanc Massif contain most of the glaciated areas in the Alps. Except research stations such as the Sphinx Observatory no settlements are to be found in those regions.
Land elevation
The following table gives the surface area above 2000 m and 3000 m and the respective percentage on the total area of each canton whose high point is above 2000 metres.
Travel and tourism
Tourism in the Swiss Alps began with the first ascents of the main peaks of the Alps (Jungfrau in 1811, Piz Bernina in 1850, Dufourspitze in 1855, Matterhorn in 1856, Dom in 1858, Weisshorn in 1861) mostly by British mountain climbers accompanied by the local guides. The construction of facilities for tourists started in the mid nineteenth century with the building of hotels and mountain huts (creation of the Swiss Alpine Club in 1863) and the opening of mountain train lines (Mount Rigi in 1873, Mount Pilatus in 1889, Gornergrat in 1898). The Jungfraubahn opened in 1912; it leads to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch.
Summer tourism
Switzerland enjoys a 62,000-km network of well-maintained trails, of which 23,000 are located in mountainous areas. Many mountains attract a large number of alpinists from around the world, especially the 4000-metre summits and the great north faces. The large winter resorts are also popular destinations in summer, as most of aerial tramways operate through the year, enabling hikers and mountaineers to reach high altitudes without much effort. The Klein Matterhorn is the highest summit of the European continent to be served by cable car.
Winter tourism
The major destinations for skiing and other winter sports are located in Valais, Bernese Oberland and Graubünden, some are accessible only with public transports. The most visited places are:
Other important winter resorts are:
Transportation
The Swiss Alps and Switzerland enjoy an extensive transportation network. Every mountain village can be reached by public transport, the main companies are:
Most of mountain regions are within 3 hours travel of Switzerland’s main cities and their respective airport. The Engadin Valley in Graubünden is between 4 to 6 hours away from the large cities; the train journey itself, with the panoramic Glacier Express or Bernina Express, is popular with tourists.
The Engadin Airport near St. Moritz at an altitude of 1,707 metres (5,600 ft) is the highest in Europe.
The crossing of the Alps is a key issue at national and international levels, as the European continent is at places divided by the range. Since the beginnings of industrialization Switzerland has improved its transalpine network; it began in 1882, by building the Gotthard Rail Tunnel, followed in 1906 by the Simplon Tunnel and more recently, in 2007, by the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. The 57-km long Gotthard Base Tunnel is slated to be open in 2016, and it will finally provide a direct flat rail link through the Alps.
Naming
The different names of the mountains and other landforms are named in the four national languages. The table below gives the most recurrent names.
| English | German | French | Italian | Romansh | Examples |
|---|
| Mount | Berg, Stock | Mont | Monte | Munt | Gamsberg, Dammastock, Mont Vélan, Monte Generoso, Munt Pers | | Summit | Gipfel | Cime | Cima | Tschima | Grenzgipfel, Cima di Gana Bianca, Tschima da Flix | | Peak | Spitze | Pointe, Pic | Pizzo | Piz | Lenzspitze, Pointe de Zinal, Pizzo Campo Tencia, Piz Roseg | | Needle | Nadel | Aiguille | Ago | Ago | Nadelhorn, Aiguille d'Argentière, Ago di Sciora | | Horn | Horn | Corne | Corno | Corn | Wetterhorn, Corne de Sorebois, Corn da Tinizong | | Tower | Turm | Tour | Torre | not used | Tour Sallière, Torrone Alto | | Head | Kopf | Tête | Testa | not used | Bürkelkopf, Tête Blanche | | Ridge | Grat | Crêt | Cresta | Fil | Gornergrat, Crêt du Midi, Fil de Cassons | | Glacier | Gletscher, Firn | Glacier | Ghiacciaio | Vadret | Unteraargletscher, Hüfifirn, Glacier de Corbassière, Ghiacciaio del Basodino, Vadret da Morteratsch | | Valley | Tal | Val | Valle, Val | Val | Mattertal, Val d'Hérens, Valle Maggia | | Pass | Pass, Joch | Col, Pas | Passo | Pass | Jungfraujoch, Panix Pass, Pas de Cheville |
Also a large number of peaks outside the Alps were named or nicknamed after Swiss mountains, such as the Wetterhorn Peak in Colorado or the Matterhorn Peak in California (see the Matterhorn article for a list of Matterhorns in the world).
The confluence of the Baltoro Glacier and the Godwin-Austen Glacier south of K2 in the Karakoram range was named Concordia by European explorers.
Gallery
See also
Natural Parks
Tourism
Sport
Other
External links
Tourism
Maps
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