Editing Bernese Alps (section)

==Geography==
One of the most prominent Alpine ranges, the Bernese Alps extend from the gorge of [[Saint-Maurice, Switzerland|Saint-Maurice]], through which the [[Rhône]] finds its way to Lake Geneva, to the [[Grimsel Pass]] or, depending on the definition, to the river [[Reuss (river)|Reuss]] (thus including the [[Uri Alps]]). The principal ridge, a chain that runs {{convert|100|km|mi}} from west ([[Dent de Morcles]]) to east ([[Sidelhorn]]), whose highest peak is the [[Finsteraarhorn]], forms the watershed between the cantons of [[Canton of Bern|Bern]] and [[Valais]]. Except for the westernmost part, it is also the watershed between the [[Rhine]] ([[North Sea]]) and the Rhône ([[Mediterranean Sea]]). This chain is not centered inside the range but lies close (10 to 15&nbsp;km) to the Rhône on the south. This makes a large difference between the south, where the lateral short valleys descend abruptly into the deep trench forming the valley of the Rhône and the north, where the Bernese Alps extends through a great part of the canton of Bern ([[Bernese Oberland]]), throwing out branches to the west into the adjoining cantons of [[Vaud]] and [[Canton of Fribourg|Fribourg]]. There the mountains progressively become lower and disappear into the hilly [[Swiss Plateau]].<ref name = Ball>{{cite book |last=Ball |first=John |author-link=John Ball (naturalist) |title=The Alpine guide, Central Alps |year=1866 |publisher=Longmans, Green |location=London}}</ref> The Bernese Alps have a large influence on the climate of Switzerland: while their north side is very exposed to weather, their south side is protected from it. As a consequence, agriculture consists essentially of dairy farming and cattle breeding on the northern foothills, while on the sunnier southern foothills (Rhone Valley) it also consists of vineyards.

[[Gemmi Pass]] is the most central of the major passes through the main chain. It also marks the separation between two distinct sections of the Bernese Alps: the chain west of Gemmi Pass, consisting mainly of foothills with a few large glacier-covered mountains (notably Dent de Morcles, [[Grand Muveran]], [[Diablerets]], [[Wildhorn]] and [[Wildstrubel]]) around {{convert|3000|m|ft}}, and the chain east of Gemmi Pass, consisting mainly of summits around {{convert|4000|m|ft}} on several subranges, with large valley glaciers between them. The latter section, contrary to the former, has very few foothills and is the most glaciated part of the [[Alps]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1037 |title=Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn World Heritage Site |website=unesco.org |access-date=11 May 2024 |archive-date=9 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109104850/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1037 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A characteristic in the orography of the Bernese Alps is, that whereas the western portion of that chain consists of a single series of summits with comparatively short projecting buttresses, the higher group presents a series of longitudinal ridges parallel to the axis of the main chain, and separated from each other by deep valleys that form the channels of great glaciers. Thus the [[Tschingel Glacier]] and the [[Kander Glacier]], separate the portion of the main range lying between the [[Gemmi Pass]] and the Mittaghorn from the equally high parallel range of the [[Doldenhorn]] and [[Blümlisalp]] on its northern side. To the south, the same portion of the main range is divided from the still higher parallel range whose summits are the [[Aletschhorn]] and the [[Bietschhorn]] by the [[Lötschental]] and the [[Lötschenlücke]]. To this again succeeds the deep trench through which the lower part of the [[Aletsch Glacier]] flows down to the Rhône, enclosed by the minor ridge that culminates at the [[Eggishorn]].<ref name = Ball/>

It is in the central and eastern portions of the range only that [[crystalline rock]]s make their appearance; the western part is composed almost exclusively of [[sedimentary deposits]], and the secondary ridges extending through Bern and the adjoining cantons are formed of [[jurassic]], [[cretaceous]], or [[eocene]] [[stratum|strata]].<ref name = Ball/>

{{multiple image
| align = centre
| total_width = 1000
| image1 = Alpine Landscape.jpg
| caption1 = The north side of the Bernese Alps from across the Swiss Plateau
| image2 = Rhone Valley.jpg
| caption2 = The south side of the Bernese Alps from across the Rhone Valley
}}