Editing Geography of Switzerland (section)

==Physical description==
[[File:Switzerland ESA370220.tiff|thumb|upright=1.6|Satellite image of Switzerland]]
Switzerland extends between the parallels 45°49'05 and 47°48'30 lat. and the meridians 5° 57'23 and 10°29'31 long. It forms an irregular quadrilateral, of which the greatest length from east to west is {{convert|350|km|mi}}, and the greatest breadth from north to south is nearly {{convert|220|km|mi}}. Switzerland is a landlocked country, the closest coastline being at the [[Gulf of Genoa]], 160&nbsp;km south of [[Chiasso]]. Its political boundaries often do not coincide with those of nature. The entire [[canton of Ticino]] is south of the [[Alps]], as are the valleys of [[Simplon Pass|Simplon]] ([[Valais]]), [[Mesocco]], [[Val Bregaglia|Bregaglia]], [[Val Poschiavo|Poschiavo]] and [[Val Müstair|Müstair]] (all in [[Graubünden]]); except for a very small part of municipality of [[Stein am Rhein]] the whole of the [[canton of Schaffhausen]], part of that of the [[canton of Basel-City]], and a small part of the [[canton of Zürich]] are north of the [[Rhine]], while the majority of Graubünden lies to the east of the Rhine basin, and [[Porrentruy]] is far down on the western slope of the [[Jura Mountains|Jura]]. Putting these exceptional cases aside, the physical geography of Switzerland may thus be described:<ref name=EB>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Switzerland/Geography |display=Switzerland § Geography |volume=26}}</ref>

*On the south runs the main chain of the Alps, which is joined (at [[Mont Dolent]] near [[Martigny]]) by the lower ranges that rise south of [[Lake Geneva]] and continue until [[Piz Lad]] to the east.
*To the north of this main chain there is another great range of mountains (wholly Swiss) only slightly inferior in extent and height, which starts from the hills known as the [[Jorat (Switzerland)|Jorat]] range above [[Lausanne]], reaches maximum in the great snowy summits of the [[Bernese Alps]] and the [[Glarus Alps|Tödi group]], before trending to the north near [[Chur]] and, after rising once more in the [[Säntis]] group, dies away on the southern shore of [[Lake Constance]].
*The Swiss portion of the main chain of the Alps and the great northern outlier run parallel to each other from Martigny to near Chur, while for a short distance they actually unite near [[Pizzo Rotondo]] (west of the [[St Gotthard Pass]]), parting again near the [[Oberalp Pass]] (east of the St Gotthard). Between these two great snowclad ranges flow two of the mightiest European rivers, the [[Rhône]] towards the west and the [[Rhine]] towards the east, their headwaters being only separated by the tangled mountain mass between Pizzo Rotondo and the Oberalp Pass, which sends the [[Reuss (river)|Reuss]] towards the north and the [[Ticino (river)|Ticino]] towards the south.
*To the north of the great northern outlier rises the [[Jura Mountains|Jura range]], a huge spur of the Alps (with which it is connected by the Jorat range), while between the northern outlier and the Jura extends what may be called the plains or [[Swiss Plateau|plateau of Switzerland]], consisting almost wholly of the undulating valley of the [[Aare]] (below [[Thun]]) with its numerous affluents. To that river valley, the valley of the [[Thur (Switzerland)|Thur]] (a direct affluent of the Rhine), that lies between the Aare basin and the Rhine basin (Lake Constance) must be added.

Putting aside the valleys of the [[Ticino (river)|Ticino]] and [[Inn (river)|Inn]], Switzerland may thus be described as consisting of three great river valleys (Rhône, Rhine and Aare) with the smaller one of the Thur, which all lie to the north of the main chain of the Alps and include the region between the Alps and the Jura. If matters are examined more carefully, it can be noted that the Rhône and Rhine valleys are shut off from that of the Aare (and of the Thur) by the great northern outlier of the Alps, which consists of the Bernese and Glarus Alps. Two wide and undulating valleys (Aare and Thur) and two deeply cut trenches (Rhône and Rhine) thus lie on the northern slope of the Alps, to the north and south respectively of the great northern outlier of the Alps. The main chain of the Alps rises in Swiss territory to the height of {{convert|4634|m|ft}} in the loftiest summit or [[Dufourspitze]] (wholly Swiss) of [[Monte Rosa]], though the [[Dom (mountain)|Dom]] ({{convert|4545|m|ft}}), in the Mischabel range, is the highest mountain mass which is entirely within Switzerland. The great northern outlier attains a height of {{convert|4274|m|ft}} in the [[Finsteraarhorn]], while the lowest level ({{convert|193|m|ft}}) within the Confederation, is on [[Lake Maggiore]] (on the course of the Ticino). The highest permanently inhabited village in Switzerland is [[Juf]] ({{convert|2126|m|ft}}) at the head of the high Alpine valley Avers (the ''Averser Rhein'' being a tributary of the Rhine), while the lowest is [[Ascona]] ({{convert|196|m|ft}}), on Lake Maggiore.<ref name="EB"/>

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| [[File:Reliefkarte Schweiz.png|thumb|350px|Simple map of Switzerland]]
| [[File:General Map of Switzerland.jpg|thumb|350px|Detailed map of Switzerland]]
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