Swiss Alps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Swiss Alps are the central portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland, because of their central position they are also known as Central Alps.
The highest summit in the Swiss Alps is the Dufourspitze, at 4,634 metres (15,202 ft) near the Swiss-Italian border. The highest mountain which lies entirely on Swiss territory is the Dom, at 4,545 metres (14,911 ft). Other main summits can be found in the list of mountains of the Alps.
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[edit] Geography
- See also: Geography of Switzerland and Valleys of the Alps
[edit] 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).
[edit] 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 group, the Dom, the Weisshorn and the famous 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.
[edit] Eastern Alps
All 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:
- Bregaglia Range
- Bernina Range (contains the easternmost summit over 4000 m: the Piz Bernina)
- Livigno Range
- Ortler Alps*
- Sesvenna Range
(*) situated out of the main chain
[edit] Hydrography
- See also: List of lakes in Switzerland and List of rivers in Switzerland
The waters flowing in the Swiss Alps can end up in the North Sea, the western Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea or in the Black Sea. Switzerland owns 6% of Europe's fresh water, this is why it is sometimes referred as the "water tower of Europe".
- Piz Lunghin, Albula Range: Po (Adriatic Sea), Rhine (North Sea) and Danube (Black Sea).
- Witenwasserenstock, Lepontine Alps: Rhone (Mediterranean Sea), Po (Adriatic Sea) and Rhine (North Sea).
- Monte Forcola, Livigno Range: Danube (Black Sea), Po (Adriatic Sea) and Adige (Adriatic Sea).
[edit] Geology
- See also: List of glaciers in Switzerland
With a few 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. As first ones are generally composed of hard crystalline rocks , the second ones contains mainly metamorphic rocks.
The last glaciations deeply transformed Switzerland’s landscape, many valleys of the Swiss Alps are characteristically U-shaped due to the erosion of ice. After the maximum extension of the Würm glaciation (18,000 years ago) the glaciers retreated to remain only in high mountain areas. Nowadays the Aletsch Glacier in the 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. The whole area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
[edit] Travel and tourism
Tourism in the Swiss Alps began with the first ascents of the main peaks of the Alps (Jungfrau in 1811, Matterhorn in 1856) 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, Gornergrat in 1898). 1912 was the year of inauguration of the Jungfraubahn which leads to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch.
[edit] Summer tourism
Switzerland enjoys a network of 62,000 km well-maintained trails among which 23,000 are located in mountainous areas. Many mountains attract a large number of alpinists from around the world, especially the 4000 metres summits. Many tourists also love to take nature hike and photographers love the look of the Swiss Alps. The large winter resorts are also the most appreciated destinations in summer.
[edit] Winter tourism
The major destinations for skiing and other winter sports are located in Valais, Bernese Oberland and Graubünden. The most visited places are:
- Davos
- Grindelwald
- St. Moritz
- Zermatt (all year round ski resort)
Other large winter resorts are:
- Adelboden
- Crans Montana
- Engelberg
- Flims
- Gstaad
- Klosters
- Saas Fee (all year round ski resort)
- Verbier
- Wengen
[edit] Transportation
- See also: List of mountain passes in Switzerland
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 of travel from Switzerland’s main cities and their respective airport. The Engadin Valley in Graubünden is usually 4 to 6 hours away from the large cities but the train travel itself with the famed Glacier Express or Bernina Express is considered as an attraction. The Samedan Airport near St. Moritz at an altitude of 1,707 metres (5,600 ft) is the highest in Europe.
[edit] Gallery
 Northern wall of the Jungfrau, Bernese Alps |
 The north face of Eiger, Bernese Alps |
 The classic view of Matterhorn, Pennine Alps |
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 Ebenalp, Appenzell Alps |
 North of Finsteraarhorn, Bernese Alps |
 Unteraar Glacier, Bernese Alps |
 Piz Bernina, Central Eastern Alps |
 Aletsch Glacier, Bernese Alps |
 Jungfraujoch, Bernese Alps |
 Lauterbrunnental, Bernese Alps |
 Oeschinensee, Bernese Alps |
 Piz Badile, Bregaglia Range |
 Bachalpsee, Bernese Alps |
 Lötschental, Bernese Alps |
 The Klein Matterhorn cable car, Pennine Alps |
 Lac des Dix, Pennine Alps |
 The north face of Matterhorn, Pennine Alps |
 The Grand Combin, Pennine Alps |
 Stei Glacier from Susten Pass, Urner Alps |
[edit] Beyond the Alps
A large number of peaks outside the Alps were named or nicknamed after Swiss mountains, as the Matterhorn Peak in California or the Wetterhorn Peak in Colorado. See the Matterhorn article for a list of Matterhorns in the world.
[edit] See also
- Great north faces of the Alps
- Swiss Alpine Club
- List of highest points of the cantons of Switzerland
- History of the Alps
- Transhumance in the Alps
[edit] External links
- Tourism
- General timetable of all public transport
- MySwitzerland.com
- SuisseMobile.com
- Scenic PostBus lines in the Swiss Alps
- MySwissAlps.com
- WalkingSwitzerland.com
- Maps
- Film
- Other
- References
- Alpine Convention
- Federal Department of Foreign Affairs informations
- Glaciers of the Alps, USGS
- Encyclopedia Britannica, Alps
- Swiss hiking federation (german, french)
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