Furka PassFurka Pass (German: Furkapass; French: Col de la Furka) is a 2,429 m (7,969 ft) high mountain pass in the southern Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri via the seasonal Furkapassroute. The Furka Oberalp Bahn bypasses the pass through the 1,390 m (4,560 ft) high Furka Base Tunnel, which opened in 1982 to replace the seasonal Furka Summit Tunnel at 2,160 metres (7,090 ft).
RhôneThe Rhône ( , French:; Occitan: Ròse; Arpitan: Rôno) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the (Gulf of Lion). At Arles, near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône (French: le Grand Rhône; Occitan: Grand Ròse) and the Little Rhône (le Petit Rhône; Pichon Ròse). The resulting delta forms the Camargue region.
Lake GenevaLake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent (345.31 km or 133.32 sq mi) of the lake belongs to Switzerland (the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Valais) and forty percent (234.71 km or 90.62 sq mi) to France (the department of Haute-Savoie).
Swiss AlpsThe Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps.German languageGerman (Deutsch, pronounced [dɔɪ̯tʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is also an official language of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol, French autonomous region of Alsace and as well as a recognised national language in Namibia.
GlacierPersistent body of ice that moves downhill under its own weightGlacier of the Geikie Plateau in GreenlandThe Taschachferner in the Ötztal Alps in Austria. The mountain to the left is the Wildspitze (3,768 m), the second highest in AustriaThe Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan. It is 62 kilometres (39 mi) long, the fifth longest alpine glacier in the world.A glacier (US: ; UK: or ) is a persistent body of natural ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving under its own weight.
French languageFrench (français or langue française) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, French and its closest relatives—the langues d'oïl, historically spoken in northern France and southern Belgium—descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. It was influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul and by the GermanicFrankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders.
SwitzerlandCountry in Central Europe Swiss Confederation Name in official languages and Latin German:Schweizerische EidgenossenschaftFrench:Confédération suisseItalian:Confederazione SvizzeraRomansh:Confederaziun svizraLatin:Confoederatio helvetica Flag Coat of arms Motto: (unofficial)"Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno""One for all, all for one"Anthem: "Swiss Psalm"Show globeShow map of EuropeLocation of Switzerland (green)in Europe (green and dark grey)CapitalNone (de jure); Bern (de facto)Federal cityBernLargest cityZurichOfficial languagesGerman (62%), French (23%), Italian (8%), Romansh (0.5%)Nationality (2024)72.6% Swiss27.4% foreign nationalsReligion (2024) 54.7% Christianity 30% Catholicism 18.7% Protestantism 6% other Christian 36.8% no religion 6% Islam 1.5% other religions 0.9% unanswered DemonymsEnglish: SwissGerman: Schweizer/SchweizerinFrench: Suisse/SuissesseItalian: svizzero/svizzera or elvetico/elveticaRomansh: Svizzer/SvizraGovernmentFederal assembly-independent directorial republic• Federal Councillors Guy Parmelin (President)Ignazio Cassis (Vice president)Karin Keller-SutterAlbert RöstiÉlisabeth Baume-SchneiderBeat JansMartin Pfister• Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi LegislatureFederal Assembly• Upper houseCouncil of States• Lower houseNational CouncilHistory• Founded 1 August 1291• Sovereignty recognised (Peace of Westphalia) 24 October 1648• Federal Treaty 7 August 1815• Federal state 12 September 1848 Area • Total41,291 km2 (15,943 sq mi) (132nd)• Water (%)4Population• 2026 estimate 9,154,242 (99th)• 2015 census 8,327,126• Density207/km2 (536.1/sq mi) (67th)GDP (PPP)2026 estimate• Total $960.599 billion (37th)• Per capita $105,680 (6th)GDP (nominal)2026 estimate• Total $1.147 trillion (20th)• Per capita $126,177 (3rd)Gini (2023) 31.5medium inequalityHDI (2023) 0.970very high (2nd)CurrencySwiss franc (CHF)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)• Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Date formatdd.mm.yyyy (AD)Calling code+41ISO 3166 codeCHInternet TLD.ch, .swiss Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located at the intersection of Central, Western, and Southern Europe.
Italian languageRomance languageItalian (italiano, pronounced, or lingua italiana, pronounced) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It is a standardised form of literary Florentine Tuscan and, together with Sardinian, is the least differentiated language from Latin. Current estimates indicate that between 68 and 85 million people speak Italian, including approximately 64 million native speakers as of 2024.
Walser GermanWalser German (German: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (Walliserdeutsch, locally Wallisertiitsch) are a group of Highest Alemannicdialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Grisons), Italy (Piedmont, Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein (Triesenberg, Planken), and Austria (Vorarlberg). Usage of the terms Walser and Walliser has come to reflect a difference of geography, rather than language.
ValaisValais (UK: , US: ; French:), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion. Valais is situated in the southwestern part of the country. It borders the cantons of Vaud and Bern to the north, the cantons of Uri and Ticino to the east, as well as Italy to the south and France to the west.
Uri AlpsThe Uri Alps (also known as Urner Alps, German: Urner Alpen) is a mountain range in Central Switzerland and part of the Western Alps.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.