Satellite image of Switzerland in October 2002. On the north side of the Alps, the regions located above 2000 m are covered by snow. The canton of Ticino (on the south side) is almost snow-free in early autumn.
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.
Since the Middle Ages, transit across the Alps played an important role in history. The region north of the
St. Gotthard Pass became the birthplace of the
Old Swiss Confederacy in 1291.
Geography
The Alps cover 65% of Switzerland's surface area (41,285 km²), making her one of the most alpine countries. Despite the fact that Switzerland covers only 14% of the Alps total area (192,753 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).
The Swiss Alps are situated south of the
Swiss plateau and north of the national border. The limit between the Alps and the plateau runs from
Vevey on the shores of
Lake Geneva to
Rorschach on the shores of lake
Bodensee, passing close to the cities of
Thun and
Lucerne.
The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are (from west to east):
France,
Italy,
Austria and
Liechtenstein.
Ranges
The Alps are usually divided into two main parts, the
Western Alps and
Eastern Alps, whose division is along the
Rhine from the Bodensee to the
Splügen Pass. The western ranges occupy the greatest part of Switzerland while the more numerous eastern ranges are much smaller and are all situated in the canton of
Graubünden. The latter are part of the
Central Eastern Alps, except the
Ortler Alps which belong to the
Southern Limestone Alps. The
Pennine,
Bernese and
Bernina Range are they highest ranges of the country, they contain respectively 38, 9 and 1 summit over 4000 meters. The lowest range is the
Appenzell Alps culminating at 2,500 meters.
(*) situated out of the
main chainWestern Alps
Map of the western Swiss Alps
Map of the eastern Swiss Alps
Hydrography
Rivers
thumb|right|[[Ruinaulta|Rhine Gorge in Graubünden]]
The north side of the Swiss Alps is drained by the
Rhone,
Rhine and
Inn river (which is part of the Danube basin) while the south side is mainly drained by the
Ticino river (Po basin). The rivers on the north empty into the
Mediterranean,
North and
Black Sea, on the south the Po empty in the
Adriatic Sea. The major triple watersheds in the Alps are located within the country, they are:
Piz Lunghin,
Witenwasserenstock and
Monte Forcola. Between the Witenwasserenstock and Piz Lunghin runs the
European Watershed separating the basin of the
Atlantic (North Sea) and the Mediterranean Sea (Adriatic and Black Sea). The European watershed lies in fact only partially on the
main chain. Switzerland possesses 6% of Europe's fresh water, and is sometimes referred to as the "water tower of Europe".
Lakes
thumb|right|The Lac des Dix in Valais
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.
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.
Geology
Lauterbrunnental Valley in the Bernese Alps, a U-shaped valley resulted from the erosion of glaciers
The composition of the great tectonic units reflects the history of the formation of the Alps. The rocks from the
Helvetic zone on the north and the
Austroalpine nappes -
Southern Alps on the south come originally from the European and African continent respectively. The rocks of the
Penninic nappes belong to the former area of the
Briançonnais microcontinent and the
Tethys Ocean. The closure of the latter by subduction under the African plate (
Piemont Ocean first and
Valais Ocean later) preceded the collision between the two plates and the so-called alpine orogeny. The major thrust fault of the
Tectonic Arena Sardona in the eastern Glarus Alps gives a visible illustration of mountain-building processes.
With some exceptions, the Alps north of
Rhone and
Rhine river are part of the Helvetic Zone and those on the south side are part of the Penninic nappes. The Austroalpine zone concerns almost only the Eastern Alps, with the notable exception of the
Matterhorn.
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.
Environment and climate
To protect endengered species some sites have been brought under protection. The
Swiss National Park in Graubünden was established in 1914 as the first alpine national park. The
Entlebuch area was designated a biosphere reserve in 2001. The largest protected area in the country is the
Parc Ela, opened in 2006, which covers an area of 600 square kilometers. The
Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area is the first World Heritage Site in the Alps.
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:
thumb|right|Tree line in the National parkThe 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).
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.
thumb|right|[[Lyskamm (4,527 m), above the
Grenz Glacier]]
The glacial zone is the area of permanent snow and ice. When the steepness 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.
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
thumb|right|Highest ski area in Europe above ZermattThe major destinations for
skiing and other
winter sports are located in
Valais,
Bernese Oberland and
Graubünden. Some villages are car-free and can be accessed only with public transports such as
Riederalp and
Bettmeralp.
Zermatt and
Saas-Fee have both summer ski areas. The most visited places are:
Thanks to a car-free policy, Zermatt retains much of its original character
Other important destinations on the regional level are
Engelberg and
Andermatt (Central Switzerland),
Leysin (Vaud),
Champéry (western Valais) and
Samnaun (eastern Graubünden).
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.
Toponymy
The different names of the mountains and other landforms are named in the
four national languages. The table below gives the most recurrent names.
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 after the
Konkordiaplatz by European explorers.
Gallery
See also
Tourism
Sport
Other
