Geography of Switzerland
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Switzerland_composite_NASA.jpg
Location: Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy, south of Germany
Geographic coordinates: Template:Coor dm
Area:
- total: 41'290 km²
Land boundaries:
- total: 1'852 km
- border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
Terrain: mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
Elevation extremes:
- lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m
- highest point: Dufourspitze 4634 m
Natural resources: hydropower potential, timber, salt
Land use:
- arable land: 10%
- permanent crops: 2%
- permanent pastures: 28%
- forests and woodland:32%
- other:28% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 250 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: avalanches, landslides, flash floods
Environment - current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity,
Climate Change,
Desertification,
Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Law of the Sea
Geography - note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains the highest elevations in Europe
Overview
Map-of-Switzerland.png
Topography
bg:Природа на Швейцария fr:Géographie de la Suisse he:גאוגרפיה של שוויץ lt:Šveicarijos geografija pt:Geografia da Suíça