Brief Review

Geographic Regions

Switzerland is divided into three geographical regions, The Plateau, the Jura and the Alps. The Plateau contains most of the country’s population, though it comprises only 30 percent of its surface area, and is home to most of the country’s farmland and industry. The Jura comprises only 12 percent of Switzerland’s surface area and is made up of a high-altitude limestone range intersected with river valleys, where many fossils and dinosaur tracks have been discovered (and thus, the term “Jurassic”). Finally, the Alps for which the country is so well known take up the greatest amount of the country’s surface area. Approximately two thirds of the country consists of the Alps, whose snows contribute to much of the annual watershed levels for the whole European continent.

The climate of Switzerland can vary dramatically within a relatively short distance. The elevations that are lowest (Ascona at 196 metres) and highest (Dufour Peak at 4.634 metres) are only 43 miles apart, transitioning from a Mediterranean to an arctic climate amazingly quickly.

Switzerland’s famous Alpine passes have been important passageways between northern and southern Europe for centuries. The Swiss part of the Alps comprises about 20 percent of the mountain area, with about 100 of their peaks near 4.000 feet above sea level. A variety of fruits and vegetables grow in the valleys between the mountains, and lakes vary in size from the impressive Lake Geneva at 584 square kilometres to the small Murtensee at 23 square kilometres. Most of the country’s large lakes are located in the Plateau region.