Val Fedoz is a

side valley Side valleys and tributary valleys are valleys whose brooks or rivers flow into greater ones. Upstream, the valleys can be classified in an increasing order which is equivalent to the usual orographic order: the tributaries are ordered from th ...

of the Upper Engadin in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

Grisons The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

. Politically, it is part of the municipality of

Bregaglia Bregaglia (Italian and rm, ) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. It was formed by the 2010 merger of the municipalities of Bondo, Castasegna, Soglio, Stampa and Vicosoprano, all located in the Val ...

Geography

Val Fedoz is the parallel valley to the

Val Fex file:Val Fex from Piz Lagrev.jpg, View from Piz Lagrev across Lake Sils into Val Fex Val Fex (Romansh language, Romansh; german: Fextal) is a southern side valley from the Engadin, Upper Engadine in Switzerland, located at an altitude of around abo ...

further east and separated from it by the Muott'Ota. Unlike the Val Fex, Val Fedoz is uninhabited, almost treeless and very barren. That is why it is also called the "wild brother of the Val Fex". To the west, the valley is separated from the

Val Forno Val Forno (German ''Fornotal'') is a valley south of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Grisons with the Forno Glacier at the head of the valley. Description The river Orlegna originates from the glacier and flows through the valley. At ''Plan Ca ...

by the

Piz da la Margna Piz da la Margna (3,158 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, overlooking Lake Sils in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It lies to the south-east of the Maloja Pass at the south-western end of the Engadin valley. Ascents can be ma ...

. To the south, the

Piz Fora Piz may refer to: * Piz Gloria, a mountain-top restaurant in Switzerland * Piz Buin, a mountain * Piz Dolf, a mountain * Piz Segnas, a mountain * Piz Buin (brand), a suncream brand * Piz (river), a river in Russia * Stosh "Piz" Piznarski ''Veron ...

() and Monte dell'Oro () on the border with Italy form the end of the valley. The trough-shaped Val Fedoz, cleared by the glacier, opens as a

hanging valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

with a terrain step into the Upper Engadine, which is about 150 meters lower. Below the glacier ''Vadrec da Fedoz'' lies the headwaters of the ''Aua da Fedoz''. Over rocks eroded by the glacier the water first falls 500 meters into the depth and then meanders through the valley. An alluvial area several kilometers long with many gravel islands was created, which is ecologically very valuable. The valley entrance is flanked on the left and right by two alps, ''Ca d'Starnam'' () to the west and ''Petpreir'' () to the east.

Name

Val Fedoz has the same etymology as the neighboring Val Fex: both names derive from ''feda'', "

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

Access

On both sides of the Aua da Fedoz hiking trails lead through the valley. They end before the glacier forefield at below Motta Salatschina.

References

{{Coord, 46.395758, N, 9.750399, E, display=title, source:dewiki Valleys of the Alps Engadin Bregaglia