Switzerland
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The Jura, the
Plateau and the Alps form the three main geographic regions of
the country. |
 The Jura
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- a limestone mountain range
stretching from Lake Geneva to the Rhine, and extending into
eastern France and southern Germany, makes up about 10 per cent
of Switzerland’s surface area. Located on average 700 metres
(2296 ft.)above sea level, it is a picturesque highland crossed
by river valleys.
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- Numerous dinosaur footprints
and fossils have been found in the Jura which gave its name to
the Jurassic geological period. The rocks of the Jura were laid
down between 208 and 144 million years ago. Jurassic rocks are
found in many places in the world, but it was in the Jura that
they were first studied, at the end of the 18th century.
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 The Alps
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- span some 200 kilometres (125
miles), at an average altitude of 1700 m (5576 ft), and cover
nearly two thirds of Switzerland's total surface area. They provide
a continental watershed, determining the climate and vegetation,
But while they contribute enormously to the Swiss identity, economic
activity is concentrated in the Plateau.
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- The valleys of several major
rivers - the Rhone, Upper Rhine, Reuss and Ticino - divide the
mountain ranges.
- Only 11 per cent of the population
lives in the mountain regions
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 The Plateau
Two thirds of the population
live in the Plateau, between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance,
in 30 percent of the country`s surface area
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- Language
- German is by far the most widely
spoken language in Switzerland: 17 of the 26 cantons are monolingual
in German.
- French is spoken in the western
part of the country, the "Suisse Romande." Four cantons
are French-speaking: Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel and Vaud.
Three cantons are bilingual: in Bern, Fribourg and Valais both
French and German are spoken.
- Italian is spoken in Ticino
and 4 southern valleys of Grisons
- Rumantsch is spoken only in
the trilingual canton of Graubünden. The other two languages
spoken there are German and Italian. Rumantsch, like Italian
and French, is a language with Latin roots. It is spoken by just
0.5% of the total Swiss population.
- The many foreigners resident
in Switzerland have brought with them their own languages, which
taken as a whole now outnumber both Rumantsch and Italian. The
2000 census showed that speakers of Serbian/Croatian were the
largest foreign language group, with 1.4% of the population.
English was the main language for 1%
- only the first three are official
languages. Nevertheless, Rumantsch is used in official communications
with Rumantsch speakers, who in turn have the right to use their
native language in addressing the central authorities.
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Bordeaux
LU
