Everything in relief or almost!
The country is divided into three groups: the Alps, the Jura and the Plateau. To the south and east lie the Alps, culminating at Monte Rosa at 4,634m; they are arranged around the southern crystalline massifs, in front of which lie the lower sedimentary Pre-Alps to the north. Only 11% of the population lives in the Alps. These mountains, with their harsh climate, forests and grasslands, were sculpted by Quaternary glaciers. There are still 140 glaciers, some of which are ideal for Nordic sports. The Aletsch glacier in the Valais is the largest and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Glacier 3000 at Col du Pillon, Les Diablerets and its many attractions offer an experience on eternal snow for the whole family. Joining two summits on a 107 m-long footbridge is impressive and unique in the world! There are 48 peaks over 4,000 m to choose from in Switzerland, including 39 in the Valais and 9 in the Bernese Alps. The first summit to be climbed was the Jungfrau in 1811 (4,158 m), the highest in Switzerland is the Dufour peak at 4,634 m, and the most famous is undoubtedly the Matterhorn, at 4,478 m (the eleventh highest). There's something for every mountaineering enthusiast! If you're looking to get up close and personal with the mountains, there's nothing like travelling around Switzerland by train. Switzerland has the densest transport network in the world, covering 29,000 km: every little hilltop village is within easy reach. The 1,280 km "Grand Train Tour"(www.suisse.com/grandtraintour) invites you to experience the contrasts of lakes, mountains, plains, viaducts and tunnels. You'll tackle the major passes without tiring, and reach Europe's highest station at 3,454 m on the summit of the Jungfraujoch. Your Swiss Travel Pass is your ticket to the Bernina Express, the Gothard Panorama Express and the Glacier Express.
From Lake Geneva to just north of Zurich lies the Jura Arc (10% of Switzerland's territory). It forms a natural border with France. This folded mid-range mountain peaks at 1,677 m (La Dôle, canton of Vaud), where the climate, wet and cold in winter, favours beautiful forests and opulent pastures. Indeed, it is in the Jura that certain valleys form "cold basins", favoring extreme temperatures such as La Brévine, with a record low of -41.8°C. This predominantly limestone massif is ideal for hiking and Nordic activities such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (Saint-Cergues, Vaud). The impressive Creux-du-Van retreat in the canton of Neuchâtel, with its 160 m of vertiginous cliffs over a circumference of more than 1 km, is a natural showcase. The richness of the subterranean environment has favoured the deposit of materials such as asphalt, long mined in the asphalt mines of the Val de Travers. For cave enthusiasts, the Saint-Léonard underground lake is the largest underground lake in Europe, at 260 m long and 29 m wide.
Between the Alps and the Jura, the Mittelland, also known as the Plateau (30% of the territory), is the most populous and vital region of the Swiss Confederation. It's a landscape of hills, forests (24%), fertile plains and numerous lakes (Lake Geneva, Neuchâtel, Lucerne, Constance), carved out of detrital sediments and moraines by the Aare and its tributaries. This is Switzerland's "breadbasket", with agricultural land occupying half of the Plateau. Urban and industrial areas are located in this hilly landscape, where traffic routes are highly developed.
The water tower of Europe
A quick glance at a map shows just how rich Switzerland is in rivers (61,000 km) and lakes (around 1,500). The mountains and their 140 glaciers are Europe's main water tower (sources of the Rhine, Rhone, Inn and Aare). Around 4% of the country's surface is covered by water. Most of these rivers flow through one or more lakes, which have the dual function of regulating their course and decanting their waters, ridding them of the many impurities taken from the mountains. The Rhône crosses Lake Geneva (Franco-Swiss), considered to be the largest lake in Western Europe, before ending its course in the Mediterranean. Water is a precious commodity, and from time immemorial people have developed clever ways of harvesting it from the mountains. The irrigation canals of the Valais, the bisses, are the historical testimony to these achievements. The Musée des Bisses tells the story of how mankind has managed to adapt to the geography of the Alps. In summer, the rivers become cool baths (19°C on average), and it's not uncommon to see the more adventurous descending the Rhine from Basel or the Sarine from Fribourg with their waterproof bags.
Switzerland is truly a land of lakes. The lakes are often former glaciers, such as Lake Geneva (580 km2), Lake Constance (536 km2), Lake Neuchâtel (215 km2), Lake Lucerne (114 km2), Lake Zurich (88 km2), Lake Thun (48 km2), Lake Biel (39 km2) or Lake Murten (22 km2). Switzerland's largest lake is Neuchâtel. These large lakes give a very seaside feel to the destination, as in summer their temperature makes them ideal for swimming and all kinds of water sports. The steamboats(www.cgn.ch) that ply the lakes offer a romantic ride and a different approach to the cities. Fishing is still a professional activity, despite a marked decline in fish reproduction due in part to global warming.
