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Feb 24, 2021 · Learn about Switzerland's location, geography, history, and culture with maps and facts. See the outline map, cantons map, physical map, and key facts of the Alpine country in Europe.
Nov 15, 2023 · Find various maps of Switzerland, a small mountainous country in Western Europe, with information on its geography, history, culture, and cities. See Switzerland location on the Europe map and its cantons, capitals, languages, and ski resorts.
- 15,940 sq mi (41,285 sq km)
- German, French, Italian, Romansh
- Bern
- ~ 8,950,000
Physical map of Switzerland (in German) Extending across the north and south side of the Alps in west -central Europe, Switzerland encompasses diverse landscapes and climates across its 41,285 square kilometres (15,940 sq mi).
- Overview
- Land
Switzerland, federated country of central Europe. Switzerland’s administrative capital is Bern, while Lausanne serves as its judicial centre. Switzerland’s small size—its total area is about half that of Scotland—and its modest population give little indication of its international significance.
A landlocked country of towering mountains, deep Alpine lakes, grassy valleys dotted with neat farms and small villages, and thriving cities that blend the old and the new, Switzerland is the nexus of the diverse physical and cultural geography of western Europe, renowned for both its natural beauty and its way of life. Aspects of both have become bywords for the country, whose very name conjures images of the glacier-carved Alps beloved of writers, artists, photographers, and outdoor sports enthusiasts from around the world.
For many outsiders, Switzerland also evokes a prosperous if rather staid and unexciting society, an image that is now dated. Switzerland remains wealthy and orderly, but its mountain-walled valleys are far more likely to echo the music of a local rock band than a yodel or an alphorn. Most Swiss live in towns and cities, not in the idyllic rural landscapes that captivated the world through Johanna Spyri’s Heidi (1880–81), the country’s best-known literary work. Switzerland’s cities have emerged as international centres of industry and commerce connected to the larger world, a very different tenor from Switzerland’s isolated, more inward-looking past. As a consequence of its remarkably long-lived stability and carefully guarded neutrality, Switzerland—Geneva, in particular—has been selected as headquarters for a wide array of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including many associated with the United Nations (UN)—an organization the Swiss resisted joining until the early 21st century.
Switzerland’s rugged topography and multicultural milieu have tended to emphasize difference. People living in close proximity may speak markedly distinct, sometimes nearly mutually unintelligible dialects of their first language, if not a different language altogether. German, French, Italian, and Romansh all enjoy national status, and English is spoken widely. Invisible lines separate historically Protestant from historically Roman Catholic districts, while the tall mountains of the St. Gotthard Pass separate northern from southern Europe and their diverse sensibilities and habits. Yet, Switzerland has forged strength from all these differences, creating a peaceful society in which individual rights are carefully balanced against community and national interests.
Britannica Quiz
Which Country Is Larger By Area? Quiz
Switzerland is bordered to the west by France, to the north by Germany, to the east by Austria and Liechtenstein, and to the south by Italy. It extends about 135 miles (220 km) from north to south and 220 miles (350 km) at its widest extent from west to east. Switzerland’s landscape is among the world’s most unusual, and it has long had to contend ...
Learn about the geography, history, and natural resources of Switzerland, a country in central Europe bordered by Germany, France, Italy, and Austria. See a satellite image of Switzerland and its location in Europe, and explore its cities, lakes, mountains, and rivers using Google Earth.
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Switzerland has a maximum north–south length of 220 kilometres (140 mi) and an east–west length of about 350 kilometres (220 mi). Switzerland is well known for the Alps in the south and south east. North of the Alps, the Swiss Plateau runs along the east–west axis of the country.
Apr 28, 2024 · Explore the map of Switzerland with its major cities, rivers, and highways. See the satellite and elevation maps of its physical features, such as the Alps and lakes, and its political map of its 26 cantons.
