The Val Roseg is a valley of the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...

, located on the north side of the

Bernina Range The Bernina Range is a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland and northern Italy. It is considered to be part of the Rhaetian Alps within the Central Eastern Alps. It is one of the highest ranges of the Alps, covered with many glaciers ...

in the canton of Graubünden (

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...

). The valley is drained by the ''Ova da Roseg'', a tributary of the Flaz (

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

basin), at

Pontresina Pontresina ( rm, Puntraschigna) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sarisinam'' in 1137 and ''de Ponte Sa ...

. Most of the valley is part of an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the municipality of

Samedan Samedan (, ) is a town and municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. It is served by Samedan railway station on the Rhaetian Railway network and by the Samedan Airport. History Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as ''Sa ...

. Only the bottom of Val Roseg lies in the municipality of Pontresina. The main locality, outside Pontresina on the bottom of the valley, is Roseg (1,999 m) at the end of the main road. Two mountain huts owned by the

Swiss Alpine Club The Swiss Alpine Club (german: Schweizer Alpen-Club, french: Club Alpin Suisse, it, Club Alpino Svizzero, rm, Club Alpin Svizzer) is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 111 s ...

are located in the valley near the glaciers: the Coaz Hut (2,610 m) and the

Tschierva Hut The Tschierva Hut (German: ''Tschiervahütte'', Romansh: ''Chamanna da Tschierva'') is a mountain hut located in the Swiss canton of Graubünden at the foot of Piz Bernina, Piz Tschierva and Piz Morteratsch at the end of Val Roseg. The hut lies a ...

(2,584 m). The Val Roseg is surrounded by the highest mountains of Graubünden and Eastern Switzerland. The highest are

Piz Bernina Piz Bernina ( Romansh, it, Pizzo Bernina, ) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpine ...

(4,049 m),

Piz Scerscen Piz Scerscen ( Romansh, it, Monte Scerscen, formerly ''Monte Rosso di Scerscen''), culminating at 3,971 m above sea level, is one of the highest peaks in the Bernina Range, straddling the border between Switzerland and Italy Italy ( it, ...

(3,971 m) and

Piz Roseg Piz Roseg (pronounced as ''peetse rawzech'') is a mountain of the Bernina Range, overlooking the Val Roseg in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. There are two summits on its main ridge: :*the south-east and higher summit (3,937 m) :*the north- ...

(3,937 m). The southern upper valley is heavily glaciated: the Roseg Glacier on the west side and the

Tschierva Glacier The Tschierva Glacier ( Romansh: ''Vadret da Tschierva'') is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Bernina Range in the canton of Graubünden/Grisons in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . See also *List of glaciers in Switzerland *Swiss A ...

on the east side. The lake Lej da Vadret, which formed at the bottom of the Roseg Glacier during the 20th century, is the largest of the valley. The waterflows in Val Roseg's braided river system has been studied since the late 90s. Recent scientific studies focus mainly on the effects of climate change on the biodiversity in its small alpine streams.

References

Swisstopo maps

External links

pontresina.ch Valleys of the Alps Valleys of Graubünden Bernina Range {{graubünden-geo-stub