1.
Valais
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The canton of Valais is widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Crans-Montana, Saas Fee and Zermatt. It is composed of 13 districts and its capital is Sion, the Romans called the upper Rhône valley Vallis Poenina. According to a tradition which can be traced back to the middle of the 8th century, from 888 onwards the lands were part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy. Valais formed part of the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy, which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032 and it became part of the duchy of Burgundia Minor, which was held from the emperors by the house of Zähringen. About the middle of the 13th century, the large communities began to develop independence, the name Zenden or tithings probably came from a very ancient division of the bishops manors for administrative and judicial purposes. In the same century the part of the valley was colonized by Germans from Hasli in the Canton of Bern. The locals became German speaking, though many Romance local names still remain, in 1354 the liberties of several of the seven Zenden were confirmed by the Emperor Charles IV. By the late 14th century, the counts of Savoy acquired the bishopric of Sion, the Zenden resisted his attempts to gather both spiritual and secular power in the valley. In 1375-76, Zenden forces crushed the army of the house of La Tour-Chatillon, and in 1388 utterly defeated the forces of the bishop, the German-speaking Zenden spread further into the valley. Starting in 1384 the Morge stream was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard, French-speaking Lower Valais and German-speaking episcopal Upper Valais, during the Raron affair rebellion in 1414 to 1420, some cantons of the Swiss Confederation took sides in the Valais. Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden supported the Upper Valais rebels, while Bern supported the noble Raron family, the uprising was successful in driving out the Rarons, and almost brought the Confederation to civil war. Following the violence of the Raron affair, the canton was the location of the Valais witch trials between 1428 and 1447 in which at least 367 men and women were put to death and this event marks one of the earliest witch scares in late medieval Europe. The phenomenon later spread to parts of the contintent. With the election of Walther von Supersax of Conches as bishop in 1457, at the outbreak of the Burgundian War in 1475 the bishop of Sion and the Zenden made a treaty with Bern. In November of the year they seized all Lower or Savoyard Valais up to Martigny. In March 1476, after the victory of Grandson, they advanced and captured St Maurice, Évian, Thonon and they had to give up the last three districts in 1477, but won them again in 1536. In the treaty of Thonon in 1569, Monthey, Val-dllliez and these conquered districts in the Lower Valais were always ruled as subject lands by the bishop and Zenden of the Upper Valais. On March 12,1529, Valais became a member of the Swiss Confederation
2.
Glacier
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A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight, it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs and they also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice, between 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran. Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earths land surface, continental glaciers cover nearly 13,000,000 km2 or about 98 percent of Antarcticas 13,200,000 km2, with an average thickness of 2,100 m. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers, Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth. Within high altitude and Antarctic environments, the temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue and this is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue. The other reason for the color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles. Air bubbles, which give a color to ice, are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice. The word Glaceon is a loanword from French and goes back, via Franco-Provençal, to the Vulgar Latin glaciārium, derived from the Late Latin glacia, the processes and features caused by or related to glaciers are referred to as glacial. The process of establishment, growth and flow is called glaciation. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology, Glaciers are important components of the global cryosphere. Glaciers are categorized by their morphology, thermal characteristics, and behavior, cirque glaciers form on the crests and slopes of mountains. A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, a large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field. Ice caps have a less than 50,000 km2 by definition. Glacial bodies larger than 50,000 km2 are called ice sheets or continental glaciers, several kilometers deep, they obscure the underlying topography. Only nunataks protrude from their surfaces, the only extant ice sheets are the two that cover most of Antarctica and Greenland. They contain vast quantities of water, enough that if both melted, global sea levels would rise by over 70 m
3.
Swiss Alps
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The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. The Swiss Alps comprise almost all the highest mountains of the Alps, such as Dufourspitze, the Dom, the Liskamm, the Weisshorn, the other following major summits can be found in this list of mountains of Switzerland. Since the Middle Ages, transit across the Alps played an important role in history, the region north of St Gotthard Pass became the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century. The Alps cover 65% of Switzerlands total 41,285 square kilometres surface area, making it one of the most alpine countries. The glaciers of the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1,220 square kilometres — 3% of the Swiss territory, the Swiss Alps are situated south of the Swiss Plateau and north of the national border. The limit between the Alps and the runs from Vevey on the shores of Lake Geneva to Rorschach on the shores of Lake Constance, passing close to the cities of Thun. The not well defined regions in Switzerland that lie on the margin of the Alps, the Swiss Prealps are mainly made of limestone and they generally do not exceed 2,500 metres. The Alpine cantons are Valais, Bern, Graubünden, Uri, Glarus, Ticino, St. Gallen, Vaud, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Fribourg, Lucerne and Zug. The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are, France, Italy, Austria, the Alps are usually divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from Lake Constance to the Splügen Pass. The western ranges occupy the greatest part of Switzerland while the more numerous eastern ranges are smaller and are all situated in the canton of Graubünden. The latter are part of the Central Eastern Alps, except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps, the Pennine, Bernese and Bernina Range are the highest ranges of the country, they contain respectively 38,9 and 1 summit over 4000 metres. The lowest range is the Appenzell Alps culminating at 2,500 metres, Western Alps Eastern Alps The north side of the Swiss Alps is drained by the Rhône, Rhine and Inn while the south side is mainly drained by the Ticino. The rivers on the empty into the Mediterranean, North and Black Sea. The major triple watersheds in the Alps are located within the country, they are, Piz Lunghin, Witenwasserenstock, between the Witenwasserenstock and Piz Lunghin runs the European Watershed separating the basin of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. The European watershed lies in fact only partially on the main chain, Switzerland possesses 6% of Europes fresh water, and is sometimes referred to as the water tower of Europe. Since the highest dams are located in Alpine regions, many mountain lakes are artificial and are used as hydroelectric reservoirs. Some large artificial lakes can be found above 2,300 m, the melting of low-altitude glaciers can generate new lakes, such as the 0.25 km² large Triftsee which formed between 2002–2003. The following table gives the area above 2000 m and 3000 m
4.
Lake Geneva
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Lake Geneva is a 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,59. 53% of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland, and 40. 47% under France. Lake Geneva has been explored by four submarines, the Auguste Piccard, forel, both built by Jacques Piccard, and the two Mir submersibles. Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève, in the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French and is the customary name in that language. In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva is predominant, a note on pronunciation, English, Lake Geneva /ˌleɪk dʒᵻˈniːvə/ French, le lac Léman, le Léman or le lac de Genève German, Genfersee or Genfer See Italian, Lago Lemano, Lago di Ginevra. The Chablais Alps border is its southern shore, the western Bernese Alps lie over its eastern side, the high summits of Grand Combin and Mont Blanc are visible from some places. Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman operates boats on the lake, the lake lies on the course of the Rhône. Other tributaries are La Dranse, LAubonne, La Morges, La Venoge, La Vuachère, Lake Geneva is the largest body of water in Switzerland, and greatly exceeds in size all others that are connected with the main valleys of the Alps. It is in the shape of a crescent, with the horns pointing south, the northern shore being 95 km, the crescent form was more regular in a recent geological period, when the lake extended to Bex, about 18 km south of Villeneuve. The lakes surface is the lowest point of the cantons of Valais, the culminating point of the lakes drainage basin is Monte Rosa at 4,634 metres above sea level. The beauty of the shores of the lake and of the sites of many of the places near its banks has long been celebrated, however, it is only from the eastern end of the lake, between Vevey and Villeneuve, that the scenery assumes an Alpine character. The shore between Nyon and Lausanne is called La Côte because it is flatter, between Lausanne and Vevey it is called Lavaux and is famous for its hilly vineyards. The average surface elevation of 372 m above sea level is controlled by the Seujet Dam in Geneva, simulations indicate that the Tauredunum event was most likely caused by a massive landslide near the Rhône delta, which caused a wave eight meters high to reach Geneva within 70 minutes. In 888 the town was part of the new Kingdom of Burgundy, in the late 1960s, pollution made it dangerous to swim at some beaches of the lake, indeed, visibility under water was near zero. By the 1980s, intense environmental pollution had almost wiped out all the fish, today, pollution levels have been dramatically cut back, and it is again considered safe to swim in the lake. Major leisure activities practiced include sailing, wind surfing, boating, rowing, on a scientific footnote, in 1827, Lake Geneva was the site for the first measurement of the speed of sound in water. The loud airborne sound coupled into the lake, establishing an underwater sound that could be measured at a distance. The flash of the exploding gunpowder provided the starting cue for the timepiece
5.
Uri Alps
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The Uri Alps are a mountain range in Central Switzerland and part of the Western Alps. The Uri Alps are composed of two groups separated by the Susten Pass. The Dammastock massif on the south is the most glaciated part while the northern part, the group south of the Susten Pass forms the dividing range between the head waters of the Aare from those of the Reuss. In addition a portion of the range is located in the basin of the Rhone. This part lies entirely within the valley of the Rhone Glacier and this group forms a complex mass including four considerable ridges and attains its greatest height at the Dammastock and the Galenstock. The group includes four nearly parallel ridges running NNW. and SSE and that forming the eastern boundary of the valley of Hasli reaches 3,383 metres at the Tieralplistock, whence it extends NNW. to the Mährenhorn, and south to the Gärstenhörner. A wide reservoir of snow whence the Trift Glacier flows to the north, north of the Dammastock the range collectively known as the Hinter Tierberg, attains 3,447 metres. Further east than the last is the Sustenhorn range, rising at its highest point to 3,505 metres, divided from the last by the Stein Glacier, lastly, another ridge still further east is separated from the last by the Voralptal, a branch of the Göschenental. Its highest summits are the Fleckistock and the Stucklistock, the lower part of the Göschenental is bounded on the south by a range running west to east diverging from the ridge between the Dammastock and the Galenstock. On the north side of the Susten Pass the ranges are lower and, except the highest mountains on the south, the main ridge, culminating at the Titlis divides the basins of the Aare and the Reuss. From the Grassen, tripoint border between the cantons of Berne, Obwalden and Uri, a small range diverges from the watershed and runs from west to east. The principal summits of the Uri Alps are, Main glaciers, Rhone Glacier Trift Glacier Stein Glacier Tiefen Glacier Chelen Glacier Damma Glacier Swisstopo maps Uri Alps on SummitPost
6.
Retreat of glaciers since 1850
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Studied by glaciologists, the temporal coincidence of glacier retreat with the measured increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases is often cited as an evidentiary underpinning of global warming. Glacier mass balance is the key determinant of the health of a glacier, Glaciers in retreat will have negative mass balances, and if they do not find an equilibrium between accumulation and ablation, will eventually disappear. The Little Ice Age was a period from about 1550 to 1850 when the world experienced relatively cooler temperatures compared to the present, subsequently, until about 1940, glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed substantially. Glacial retreat slowed and even reversed temporarily, in many cases, in locations such as the Andes of South America and Himalayas in Asia, the demise of glaciers in these regions has the potential to affect water supplies in those areas. The acceleration of the rate of retreat since 1995 of key outlet glaciers of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets may foreshadow a rise in sea level, the mass balance, or difference between accumulation and ablation, of a glacier is crucial to its survival. Climate change may cause variations in temperature and snowfall, resulting in changes in mass balance. A glacier with a negative balance loses equilibrium and retreats. A sustained positive balance is out of equilibrium and will advance to reestablish equilibrium. Currently, nearly all glaciers have a mass balance and are retreating. Glacier retreat results in the loss of the region of the glacier. Since higher elevations are cooler, the disappearance of the lowest portion decreases overall ablation, thereby increasing mass balance, methods for measuring retreat include staking terminus location, global positioning mapping, aerial mapping and laser altimetry. The key symptom of disequilibrium is thinning along the length of the glacier. This indicates a diminishment of the accumulation zone, the result is marginal recession of the accumulation zone margin, not just of the terminus. In effect, the no longer has a consistent accumulation zone. However, the Grinnell Glacier in Montana, U. S. will shrink at an increasing rate until it disappears. The difference is that the section of Easton Glacier remains healthy and snow-covered. Small glaciers with minimal altitude range are most likely to fall into disequilibrium with the climate, middle latitude glaciers are located either between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle, or between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. Both areas support glacier ice from glaciers, valley glaciers and even smaller icecaps
7.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
8.
Grimsel Pass
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The Grimsel Pass is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of 2,164 metres. The pass connects the Haslital, the valley of the river Aare. In so doing, and as the Aare is a tributary of the Rhine, a paved road follows the pass, running 38 kilometres from Gletsch to Meiringen. The road is closed between October and May, due to the high snowfall on the pass. As it is the direct road pass between the cantons of Bern and Valais across the Bernese Alps, attempts are made to keep the road open as long as possible with snow ploughs. A PostBus Switzerland service uses the pass several times a day, connecting Meiringen, the Grimsel Pass road is part of the Aare Route, which is national cycle route 8 of Switzerland. It has been used on occasions by the Tour de Suisse. The Grimsel Pass formed, along with the Nufenen and Gries passes, cheese and cattle were sent south, whilst wine, rice, corn and olive oil came north. This trade continued until the opening of the Gotthard railway in 1882, the track over the pass was not upgraded to a paved road until 1894. The KWO now promotes the pass and surrounding area as a visitor attraction, the Grimsel Pass connects the cantons of Bern, to the north, and Valais, to the south, with the summit of the pass lying on the cantonal boundary. The northern slopes of the pass are in the Bernese municipality of Guttannen, the approach passes the village of Innertkirchen, where the road to the Susten Pass diverges, and continues alongside the Aare to Guttannen. Beyond Guttannen, and still following the river, the road passes a pair of tunnels to Handegg, where the lower station of the Gelmerbahn funicular. After Handegg the road climbs through several hairpin bends and an 850 metres tunnel to the Räterichsbodensee reservoir, a further climb brings the road to the Grimselsee reservoir and the Grimsel Hospice. Here the final climb to the summit commences, with more sweeping hairpin bends. At the summit, are several hotels and an area of parking. Here the road alongside the Totesee, a natural lake that has been enlarged into a reservoir. To the west of the pass and lake is the peak of the Sidelhorn, from the Totesee the pass road descends steeply through more hairpin bends to Gletsch in the most upper valley of the Rhône, the Obergoms. Here connection is made with the Furka Pass, connecting with the canton of Uri, a short distance down the Goms are Oberwald and Ulrichen
9.
Dammastock
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The Dammastock is the highest mountain in the Urner Alps in Switzerland and is part of the Winterberg massif. Its summit ridge forms the border between the cantons of Uri and the Valais and it is the highest summit in the canton of Uri. The tripoint between the cantons of Berne, Valais and Uri lies near the Eggstock, north of the Dammastock, politically, the Dammastcok is split between the municipalities of Göschenen and Obergoms. The massif is almost completely covered by ice, the large Rhone Glacier on the west side, the smaller Damma Glacier on the east side and it was first climbed by Albert Hoffmann-Burkhardt with guides Johann Fischer and Andreas von Weissenfluh on 28 July 1864. Dammastock Hut Hotel Tiefenbach List of mountains of Uri List of mountains of Switzerland List of most isolated mountains of Switzerland The Dammastock on SummitPost
10.
Oberwald
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Oberwald is a village in the municipality of Obergoms in Goms District in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is situated at an elevation of 1377 m and had a population of 277 in December 2007 and it is located at the end of the Goms, directly before the Furka and Grimsel passes, underneath the Rhône River source at the Rhône Glacier. It is also the startpoint of the Furka Tunnel, most inhabitants live off tourism or sheep farming. Oberwald was an independent municipality until January 1,2009, when it merged with Ulrichen and Obergesteln to form the municipality of Obergoms
Media related to Rhône Glacier at Wikimedia Commons
