General Information » Switzerland Overview » Geography

Switzerland is renowned for its breathtaking scenery. While you may find similarly attractive landscapes in other corners of the world, few places offer so much cultural variety in such a relatively small area. From high mountain peaks to low lying pastures, from lakes and rivers to glaciers, and from beautiful plants and cute furry animals to Gothic cathedrals and old towns steeped in history, Switzerland just about has it all.

Nestled in the heart of Europe, Switzerland shares borders with five countries: Italy to the south, France to the west, northwest and southwest, Germany to the north and northeast, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Part of the border comprises Lac Léman and Lake Constance. Switzerland’s capital, Bern, is in the north, roughly half way between the eastern and western most points of Switzerland.

The Alps occupy 60% of the country, the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) another 30%, and the Jura mountains, the remaining ten percent. Forests, rocks, lakes, settlements, rivers and glaciers cover approximately two thirds of the country’s surface area and the leftover arable land is slowly being replaced with roads and buildings.

The country is divided into 26 ‘cantons’ (semi-independent states), of which three are divided into half cantons. Each canton is then subdivided into ‘communes’ (municipalities). However, all 26 cantons are united under the Federal State, which has overall responsibility for national matters, such as the military, telecommunications and foreign policy.

Geneva sits in a horseshoe shaped basin, partially enclosed by the mountains of the Jura to the west and north, and the French Salève mountain to the south and southwest. The east opens out onto the rest of Switzerland. The name ‘Geneva’ originates from the Latin meaning ‘mouth of the waters’, which accurately describes Geneva’s geographical location at the western tip of Lac Léman (where the waters of Lac Léman flow back into the river Rhône). The Rhône, which rises in central Switzerland, flows through Lac Léman from east to west. The canton of Geneva occupies 282 square km and has 45 communes. Its geographic co-ordinates are 46° 12’ north and 6° 9’ east, and its altitude is 375 metres above sea level. The canton shares 103 km of border with France (including 20 customs controlled crossings) and only 4.5 km of border with the rest of Switzerland.



Definition of a canton

A canton is a semi-independent state with its own laws, customs, constitution and political peculiarities, and each one has a distinctive culture as well as its own traditions.