The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are entirely in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.
The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps, located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Fribourg and Vaud, the latter being usually named Fribourg Alps and Vaud Alps respectively. The highest mountain in the range, the Finsteraarhorn, is also the highest point in the canton of Bern.
The Aletsch Glacier or Great Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about 23 km (14 mi) (2014), has about a volume of 15.4 km3 (3.7 cu mi) (2011), and covers about 81.7 km2 (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Aletsch Glacier is composed of four smaller glaciers converging at Konkordiaplatz, where its thickness was measured by the ETH to be still near 1 km (3,300 ft). It then continues towards the Rhône valley before giving birth to the Massa. The Aletsch Glacier is – like most glaciers in the world today – a retreating glacier. As of 2016, since 1980 it lost 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) of its length, since 1870 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi), and lost also more than 300 metres (980 ft) of its thickness.
The Finsteraarhorn is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the most prominent peak of Switzerland. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth-highest mountain and third-most prominent peak in the Alps. In 2001 the whole massif and surrounding glaciers were designated as part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site.
The Grünhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps range of the Swiss Alps. It is located on the ridge between the two largest glaciers of the Alps: the Aletsch Glacier to the west and the Fiescher Glacier to the east. To the south lies the Gross Wannenhorn and, to the north, the Gross Fiescherhorn.
The Gorner Glacier is a valley glacier found on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is about 12.4 km (7.7 mi) long (2014) and 1 to 1.5 km wide. The entire glacial area of the glacier related to Gorner Glacier is 53 km2 (20 sq mi) (2007), which makes it the second largest glacial system in the Alps after the Aletsch Glacier system; however it ranks only third in length behind the Aletsch and Fiescher Glacier, respectively. Numerous smaller glaciers connect with the Gorner Glacier. Its (former) tributaries are : Gornergletscher, Monte Rosa Gletscher, Grenzgletscher, Zwillingsgletscher, Schwärzegletscher, Breithorngletscher, Triftjigletscher, and Unterer Theodulgletscher.
The Grosses Wannenhorn is a 3906-metre mountain in the Bernese Alps, in the Swiss canton of Valais near the village of Fiesch. It is part of the Walliser Fiescherhörner. The mountain separates the Aletsch Glacier to the west from the Fiescher Glacier to the east.
The Fiescher Glacier is a valley glacier on the south side of the Bernese Alps in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. 16 km (9.9 mi) in length, it is the second longest glacier in the Alps. The glacier covers an area of 33 km2 (13 sq mi).
The Lower Grindelwald Glacier is a Glacier in the Swiss Bernese Alps, situated to the south-east of Grindelwald. It starts below the Agassizhorn and the Strahlegghörner and is connected with the Finsteraar Glacier via the Finsteraarjoch.
The Galmihorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking the Fiescher Glacier in the canton of Valais. The main summit is distinguished by the name Vorderes Galmihorn and has an elevation of 3,506 metres. A secondary summit named Hinteres Galmihorn has an elevation of 3,486 metres.
The Oberaarrothorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, on the border between the Swiss cantons of Valais and Bern. It is south of the Oberaarjoch, between the Fiescher Glacier and the Oberaar Glacier.
The Agassizhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It lies just north-west of the Finsteraarhorn, the main summit of the range. The Agassizhorn is the tripoint between the valleys of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier, the Unteraar Glacier and the Fiescher Glacier. Because the Lower Grindelwald and Unteraar glaciers drain into the Aar and hence the Rhine and North Sea, whilst the Fiescher glacier drains into the Rhone and hence the Mediterranean Sea, the Sidelhorn lies on the European continental divide.
The Setzehorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located north of Bellwald in the canton of Valais. It lies south of the Galmihorn, on the range lying between the Fiescher Glacier and the main Rhone valley.
The Grünhornlücke is a high mountain pass in the eastern Bernese Alps, connecting the Aletsch Glacier and the Fiescher Glacier in the canton of Valais. The pass is located between the Grünhorn on the north and the Fiescher Gabelhorn on the south.
The Oberaarjoch is a high mountain pass across the eastern Bernese Alps, connecting the Fiescher Glacier in the canton of Valais to the Oberaar Glacier in the canton Bern. The pass is located between the Oberaarhorn on the north and the Oberaarrothorn on the south. Above the col, on the Valais side, lies the Oberaarjoch Hut.
The Finsteraarhorn Hut is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located north of Fieschertal in the canton of Valais. It lies at a height of 3,048 metres (10,000 ft) above sea level at the southern foot of the Finsteraarhorn, the highest peak of the Bernese Alps. The hut overlooks the upper basin of the Fiescher Glacier, which is among the largest of the range. It is located a few kilometres east of the Grünhornlücke.
The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is located in south-western Switzerland between the cantons of Berne and Valais. It is a mountainous region in the easternmost side of the Bernese Alps, containing the northern wall of Jungfrau and Eiger, and the largest glaciated area in western Eurasia, comprising the Aletsch Glacier. The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is the first World Natural Heritage site in the Alps; it was inscribed in 2001.
The Studerhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It lies between the Finsteraarhorn and the Oberaarhorn, on the ridge separating the basins of the Unteraar Glacier (north) and the Fiescher Glacier (south).
The Oberaarjoch Hut is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located north of Fieschertal in the canton of Valais, close to the canton of Bern. The hut lies at a height of 3,258 metres above sea level at the foot of the Oberaarhorn, just above the Oberaarjoch, the glacier pass connecting the Fiescher Glacier from the Oberaar Glacier. All accesses to the hut involve glacier crossing.
