The Swiss plateau (plateau suisse in French, Schweizer Mittelland in German) constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Alps. It covers about 30 % of the Swiss surface. It comprises the regions between the Jura and the Alps, partly flat but mostly hilly, and lays at an average height between 400 and 600 meters AMSL. It is by far the most densely populated region of Switzerland, and the most important with respect to economy and transportation. In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ... Looking towards Lelex from near to Crêt de La Neige The Jura folds are located north of the main Alpine orogenic front and are being continually deformed, accommodating the northwards compression due to Alpine folding. ... The West face of the Petit Dru above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace. ... The term above mean sea level (AMSL) refers to the elevation (on the ground) or altitude (in the air) of any object, relative to the average sea level. ...

View from the Pilatus on the Swiss plateau near Luzern

Image File history File links en: View on Luzern from the Pilatus Blick vom Pilatus auf Luzern File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ... Image File history File links en: View on Luzern from the Pilatus Blick vom Pilatus auf Luzern File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ...

Geography

Satellite image of the Swiss plateau between the Jura and the Alps

In the north and northwest, the Swiss plateau is sharply delimited geographically and geologically by the Jura mountains. In the south, there is no clear border with the Alps. Usually, the rising of the terrain to altitudes above 1500 meters AMSL (lime Alps, partly subalpine molasse), which is very abrupt in certain places, is taken as a criterion for delimination. Occasionally the regions of the higher Swiss plateau, especially the hills of the canton of Fribourg, the Napf region, the Töss region and parts of the Appenzell region are considered to form the Swiss Alpine foreland in a narrow sense. However, if a division into the three main regions Jura, Swiss plateau and Alps is considered, the Alpine foreland belongs clearly to the Swiss plateau. In the southwest, the Swiss plateau is confined by the Lake Geneva, in the northeast, by the Lake Constance and the Rhine. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1249x768, 202 KB) Satellite image of Mittelland of Switzerland 30. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1249x768, 202 KB) Satellite image of Mittelland of Switzerland 30. ... The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. ... The Töss is a river of the Canton of Zürich. ... Appenzell (or Appenzellerland) is a region in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. ... Lake Geneva - or Lake Léman, (French Lac Léman, le Léman, or Lac de Genève, German Genfer See) is the second largest freshwater lake in Central Europe (after Lake Balaton), divided as 40% France (Haute-Savoie) and 60% Switzerland (cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Valais). ... Map of the Bodensee; Schweiz is Switzerland, Deutschland is Germany, and Osterreich is Austria. ... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ...

Geologically, the Swiss plateau is part of a larger basin that exceeds Switzerland. On its southwestern end, in France, the plateau in the Genevois and ends at Chambéry where Jura and Alps meet. At the other side of the Lake Constance, the plateau continues in the German and Austrian Prealps. Genevois is the name used in Geneva used for the dialect of Arpitan used in the canton of Geneva. ... The city and arrondissement of Chambéry in Savoie, France, has been the historical capital of Savoy since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made it his seat. ...

Within Switzerland, the Swiss plateau has a length of about 300 kilometers, and its width increases from the west to the east: In the Geneva region, it is about 30 kilometers, at Bern about 50 kilometers and in eastern Switzerland about 70 kilometers. Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German: (help· info) //, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland, situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River. ... Location within Switzerland The city of Bern, English traditionally Berne (Bernese German Bärn , German Bern , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland, and is the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ...

Many cantons of Switzerland take a part in the Swiss plateau. Entirely situated within the Swiss plateau are the cantons of Zürich, Thurgau and Geneva; mostly situated within the Swiss plateau are the cantons of Lucerne, Aargau, Solothurn, Bern, Fribourg and Vaud; small portions of the Swiss plateau are situated in the cantons of Neuchâtel, Zug, Schwyz, St. Gallen and Schaffhausen. The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ... The Canton of Zürich (German: Kanton (help· info)) has a population of about 1. ... Thurgau (Thurgovia) is a canton of Switzerland. ... The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the name of the westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France and centered around the city of Geneva. ... Lucerne (German Luzern) is a canton of Switzerland. ... For other uses, see Aargau (disambiguation). ... Solothurn is a canton of Switzerland. ... The Swiss canton of (help· info) is bilingual (German: Kanton Bern; French Canton de Berne) and has a population of about 947,000. ... The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. ... The Canton of Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland located in the southwestern part of the country. ... Neuchâtel is a canton of Switzerland. ... (help· info) (-German; French: Zoug; Italian: Zugo) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... Schwyz (German Schwyz) is a canton in central Switzerland between Lake Lucerne in the south and Lake Zurich in the north. ... St. ... The Canton of Schaffhausen is a canton of Switzerland. ...

Geology

Geological layers

Thanks to many deep drillings for oil and gas, the geological layers of the Swiss plateau are relatively well known. The base level is cristalline basement which outcrops in the central cristalline Alps as well as in the Black Forest and in the Vosges mountain range but forms a deep geosynclinal in the Swiss plateau and in the Jura. Around 2500 – 3000 meters below the ground, but considerably deeper near the Alps, the drillings have hit the cristalline basement. It is covered by unfolded layers of Mesozoic sediments from the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. Its gauge gradually decreases from about 2.5 kilometers in the west to 0.8 kilometers in the east. These layers, like the ones of the Jura mountains, have sedimented in a relatively flat sea, the Tethys Ocean. Above the Mesozoic layers, there is Molasse, consisting of conglomerates, sands, marl and clay and compressed to stone by the weight of the sediments that have covered it. The uppermost layer consists of gravel and loose stones that have been transported by the glaciers of the Ice ages. A map of Germany, showing the Black Forest in red. ... The Vosges mountains are range of mountains in central-western Europe, stretching along the west side of the Rhine valley in a NNE direction, from Basel to Mainz, for a distance of 250 km (150 miles). ... The Mesozoic is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. ... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 245 to 202 Ma (million years ago). ... The Jurassic period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 200 Ma (million years ago) at the end of the Triassic to 146 Ma at the beginning of the Cretaceous. ... Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period, about 146 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... Tethys Ocean divides Pangea into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana The Tethys Ocean was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia before the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. ... Definition of Molasses: - i. ... A conglomerate with iron oxide cementing material A conglomerate is a rock consisting of other stones that have been cemented together. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is an example of a class of materials called granular matter. ... Marls are calcium carbonate or lime rich muds or mudstones which contain variable amounts of clays and calcite or aragonite. ... Quaternary clay in Estonia. ... Gravel being unloaded from a barge Gravel is rock that is of a certain grain size range. ... Aletsch glacier, Switzerland A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

Molasse

Geologically the most important layer of the Swiss plateau is the mighty molasse that has been sedimented at the border of the Alps due to mountain erosion. The gauge of the molasse increases from west to east (at the same distance from the Alps). The former Alpine rivers, which mostly did not correspond to the contemporary rivers, built huge fans of sediments at the foot of the mountains. The most important examples are the Napf fan and the Hörnli fan; other sedimental fans exist in the Rigi region, in the Schwarzenburg region and in the region between the eastern lake Geneva and the middle reaches of the Saane/Sarine. Definition of Molasses: - i. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ... Rigi is a mountain in central Switzerland and part of the Alps. ... Saane (German, in French: Sarine) is one of the larger rivers in Switzerland. ...

The eroded material has been sorted by grain size. The coarse material has predominantly sedimented near the Alps, as soon as the water current which carried it became too feeble. In the middle of the plateau, there are finer sandstones and near the Jura, clays and marl.

history of the Swiss plateau molasse

In the uprise of the Tertiary, around 60 – 40 millions of years ago, the area of today's Swiss platea was a Karst plateau somewhat inclined southwards and drained in that direction, too. Through processes of rising and lowering that were brought by the folding of the Alps, the area was twice flooded by a sea. The corresponding sediments are distinguished as sea molasse and freshwater molasse, even though the latter is consists rather of fluvial sediments and aerosols (so it is rather a kind of mainland molasse). The Tertiary period was previously one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, from the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 million years ago to the start of the Quaternary period about 1. ... Karst topography is a landscape of distinctive dissolution patterns often marked by underground drainages. ... The word fluvial is used in geography and earth science to refer to all topics related to flowing water. ...

• Lower sea molasse (around 37 - 30 millions of years ago): The lime plateau lowered gradually, and a shallow sea broke in, spreading east until the Carpathian Mountains. The sediments consisted of fine-grained sands, clay and marl. There were no conglomerate fans yet since the proper Alpine folding began only at the end of that period.
• Lower sweetwater molasse (around 30 - 22 millions of years ago): The sea receded because of enhancements, but also because of a worldwide decreasement of the mean sea level. Along with the folding of the Alps, their erosion started and the first conglomerate fans accrued.
• Upper sea molasse (around 22 - 16 millions of years ago): For a second time, a shallow sea broke in. The formation of the conglomerate fans of the Napf and of the Hörnli began.
• Upper sweetwater molasse (about 16 - 2 millions of years ago): The sea receded definitively. The formation and of the Napf and Hörnli fans continued (alongside other minor fans). At the end of this period, the gauge reached about 1500 meters.

In the following time, especially the western part of the plateau was again significantly risen, so that in this area, the sediments of the upper sweetwater molasse and the upper sea molasse have been largely eroded. Satellite image of the Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains are the eastern wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe, curving 1500 km (~900 miles) along the borders of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and northern Hungary. ...

A characteristic of the sea molasses ar petrified snails, shells and shark teeth, whereas in the sweetwater molasses, petrifications of typical land mammals can be found or of the former subtropical vegetation (for instance palm leaves). In geology, petrifaction or petrification is the process by which organic material is converted into stone or a similar substance. ... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes...

The Ice ages

The contemporary landscape of the Swiss plateau has been shaped by the Ice age glaciers. During all the known alpine glaciations (Günz glaciation, Mindel glaciation, Riss glaciation and Würm glaciation), huge glaciers penetrated the Swiss plateau. During the warm interglacials, the glaciers receded to the high alps (sometimes more than today) and subtropical vegetation spread in the plateau. The Beestonian stage is the name for an early Pleistocene glacial stage used in the British Isles. ... The Kansan Glaciation (known in UK as the Anglian Glaciation and sometimes referred to as the Illinoian Glaciation, Elster glaciation in northern Europe and the Mindel glaciation in the Alps) was a severe glacial period in the Pleistocene. ... The Wolstonian glaciation is a name for an ice age period which occurred between 200,000 and 125,000 years ago. ... The Wisconsin (in North America), Weichsel (in Scandinavia), Devensian (in the British Isles), Midlandian (in Ireland) or Würm glaciation (in the Alps) is the most recent period of the Ice Age, and ended some 10,000 Before Present (BP). ...

The Napf region in the higher Swiss plateau

During the Ice ages, the Rhône glacier ramified into two branches when leaving the Alps, covering the whole western Swiss plateau until today's regions of Solothurn and Aarau. In the region of Bern it merged with the Aar glacier. The glaciers of the Reuss, the Limmat and the Rhine advanced sometimes as well until the Jura. The glaciers formed the land by erosion, but also by base moraines (very fine stone meal) that measure often several meters, and by the front end rivers depositioning gravel. Image File history File links en: Lüderenalp in the Napf region Lüderenalp im Napfgebiet File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ... Image File history File links en: Lüderenalp in the Napf region Lüderenalp im Napfgebiet File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ... Starry Night Over the Rhone, by Vincent van Gogh (1888) The River Rhône (French Rhône, Occitan Ròse, Franco-Provençal Roun, standard German Rhone, Valais German Rotten) is one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. ... The city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. ... Aarau Location within Switzerland Aarau is the capital of the Swiss canton of Aargau. ... Aar (disambiguation). ... The River Reuss is one of the larger rivers in Switzerland. ... The Limmat is a river in Switzerland which rises in the city of Zürich at the north end of Lake Zürich and flows in northwestern direction until it flows after 35 km into the river Aare north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Moraine is the general term for debris of all sorts originally transported by glaciers or ice sheets that have since melted away. ...

Traces of the older Günz and Mindel glaciation are only left in few places, because most has been removed or transferred by the later glaciations. The greatest extension was reached by the glaciers of the Riss glaciation, when the entire Swiss plateau was covered with ice except for the Napf and Töss regions. Most notable are the traces of the Würm glaciation about 15 000 years ago. The end moraines of different retraction phases have been conservated.

Landscapes

A look at a map still reveals the directions where the ice age glaciers ran. The farthest expansion of the Rhône glacier to the northeast is indicated by way the western Swiss plateau valleys run: The valleys of the Broye and the Glâne as well as lake Neuchâtel, lake Biel and lake Murten run all northeast, parallel to the Jura and to the Alps. The glaciers of the Reuss and the Limmat have carved the valleys of the central Swiss plateau that run northwest (among others the valleys of the Wigger, the Suhre, the Seetal, the Reuss and the Limmat). The Rhine glacier has mostly left traces that run west: The eastern Swiss plateau Thur valley and lake Constance. In certain places, there are characteristic drumlins of pressed base moraine, often clustered, especially in the highlands of Zürich, in the Hirzel region, in the lake Constance region and between the Reuss valley and the lake Baldegg. The Broye is a 68km long river, in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, in Switzerland. ... Lake Neuchâtel (French: Lac de Neuchâtel; German: Neuenburgersee) is a lake in Western Switzerland (French-speaking Switzerland). ... Lake Biel Lake Biel (German: Bielersee, French: Lac de Bienne) is a lake in the west of Switzerland. ... Lake Murten (Lac de Morat, Murtensee) is a lake in the west of Switzerland. ... The River Reuss is one of the larger rivers in Switzerland. ... The Limmat is a river in Switzerland which rises in the city of Zürich at the north end of Lake Zürich and flows in northwestern direction until it flows after 35 km into the river Aare north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth... Thur is a 131 km long river in north-eastern Switzerland. ... Drumlin in Cato, New York A drumlin (Gaelic druim the crest of a hill) is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action. ...

Another reminder of the glaciation are glacial erratics which are found all over the Swiss plateau. These rocks, sometimes of an enormous size, are of alien stones, mostly Granite and Gneiss from the central crystalline Alps. Taken together, they were one of the clues that led to the substantiation of the glaciation theory in the 19th century since a transport by water or by volcanism was physically impossible. A Glacial erratic is a piece of rock carried by glacial ice some distance from the rock outcrop from which it came. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... Gneiss Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. ...

Gravel deposits in the bottoms of the valleys are another testimonial of the glaciation. During the pushes and withdrawals of the glaciers, gravel layers were deposited in the valleys, sometimes mighty ones, though most of it eroded in the subsequent interglacials except for a few rests. Therefore, many valleys have characteristic terraces, the lower terraces consisting of Würm glaciation gravel, the higher terraces of Riss glaciation terraces. Sometimes, there is also gravel from older glaciations.

Topography

The Swiss plateau near Muri (AG)

Even though the Swiss plateau forms a basin, it is by no means a flat territory, but depending on the region, it has a manifold structure. Important elements are the two big lakes, the lake Geneva and the lake Constance that delimit the Swiss plateau in the southwest and the northeast. The western plateau is stamped by the Gros de Vaud plateau (up to 600 meters AMSL) and the Jorat molasse hills (up to 900 meters AMSL) but sometimes intersected by deep valleys. Only near the Jura there is an almost continuous dip consisting of the Venoge and the Orbe valleys which are separated by the Mormont, the main watershed between Rhône and Rhine, at only 500 meters AMSL. The Seeland ('lake land'), characterized by the Neuchâtel, Biel and Murten lakes, represents the biggest plain of the Swiss plateau, though it is also irrupted by isolated molasse ranges. In the east, it is neighboured by various hill countries the height of which decreases to the north. Another major plain is the Wasseramt where the Emme river runs. In a broad valley alongside the Jura, the Aar collects all the rivers that come down from the Alps. Image File history File links en: Near Muri (AG), in the background there is the Uetli mountain and the Albis range. ... Image File history File links en: Near Muri (AG), in the background there is the Uetli mountain and the Albis range. ... Orbe is a small town in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. ... The Emme is a river in Switzerland. ...

Central Swiss plateau near Sursee

The central Swiss plateau is characterized by a number of ranges and broad valleys, some of them with lakes, that run northwest. The last of them is the Albis range, which together with the Heitersberg range forms a bar from the Alps to the Jura that the major transportations bypass only in a few places, mostly in tunnels. Image File history File links en: Mauensee (West of Sursee) Mauensee (westlich von Sursee) File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ... Image File history File links en: Mauensee (West of Sursee) Mauensee (westlich von Sursee) File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ... The Albis is a chain of hills in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, stretching for some 19 km from Sihlbrugg in the south to Waldegg near Zurich in the north. ...

The eastern Swiss plateau is structured by the valleys of the Limmat (including lake Zürich), the Glatt, the Töss and the Thur. Between them there are hill countries, in the Thurgau also the broad molasse ranges of Seerücken and Ottenberg. Lake Zurich showing a sailing boat, a popular pastime on the lake Lake Zurich (also spelled Lake Zürich or Lake of Zürich; in German Zürichsee) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the town of Zürich. ...

Two hill countries get out of line of the mentioned landscapes: The Napf region (with 1408 meters AMSL the highest point of the Swiss plateau) and the Töss region (up to 1300 meters AMSL), both of them rests of Tertiary conglomerate sediment fans. Since they were not glaciated, they have only been eroded by water, resulting in a dense net deep, narrow valleys.

Climate

View from the Rigi on the sea of fog covering the Swiss plateau

The Swiss plateau is situated within a transition zone between humid oceanic climate and continental temperate climate. The predominant wind comes from the west. In the lower plateau, the mean annual temperature is about 9 – 10 °C. In January, the lake Geneva region and the watersides of lake Neuchâtel and lake Biel have the highest mean temperature of about +1 °C. At the same height AMSL, the temperature is decreasing towards the east. In the lake Constance region, the mean temperature of the coldest month is -1 °C. In July, the mean temperature of Geneva is 20 °C, alongside the southern edge of the Jura it is 18 – 20 °C, and in higher regions 16 – 18 °C. With regard to mean sunshine duration, the lake Geneva region is again advantaged with more than 1900 hours, whereas in the rest of the Swiss plateau, it is between 1600 (especially in the east) and 1900 hours. Image File history File links en: Northnortheastern view from the Rigi on the sea of fog (upper limit about 800 meters AMSL) that covers the Swiss plateau. ... Image File history File links en: Northnortheastern view from the Rigi on the sea of fog (upper limit about 800 meters AMSL) that covers the Swiss plateau. ...

The annual average rainfall is between 800 millimeters near the Jura, 1200 millimeters in the higher regions and 1400 millimeters at the edge of the Alps. The driest regions of the plateau are in the lee of the High Jura between Morges and Neuchâtel. In the warmest regions at the lakes of Geneva and Neuchâtel, there are less than 20 days with a snow cover, whereas in the rest of the plateau, it is between 20 and 40, depending on the height. Morges is a commune in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district and is also the seat of Morges. ...

In the winter half year, the air on the Swiss plateau can stay still, with little exchange to rest of the atmosphere, building a lake of cold air on the plateau and often a ceiling of high fog. The clouds look like an ocean of fog when seen from above, (usually around 800m) and hence is called the 'nebelmeer'. This weather is called inversion because the temperature below the fog is lower than the temperature above. Sometimes, it lasts for days or even for weeks, during which the neighbouring regions of the Alps and the Jura can have the brightest sunshine. Typical for the high fog is the bise, a cold wind from northeast. Since it is channelled by the Swiss plateau narrowing in southwest, it reaches its major strength in the lake Geneva region where wind speeds of 60 km/h with top speeds of more than 100 km/h are usual in typical bise weather. The regions near the Alps of the central and eastern plateau sometimes have temperature rises due to the warm Föhn wind. A dry cold wind that comes from the north in southeastern France (also bize) and from the northeast in Switzerland. ... A föhn wind or foehn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. ...

Vegetation

The dominating vegetation in the Swiss plateau is mixed broadleaf forest with European Beeches and Silver Firs. For forestry, there are major plantations of Norway Spruces in many places, though the Norway Spruce naturally only grows in the mountains. In certain favoured spots that are warmer and drier, in the lake Geneva region, in the Seeland and in northern plateau between the Aar orifice and Schaffhausen, the predominant trees are oak, tilia and maple. Binomial name Fagus sylvatica L. The European Beech or Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. ... Binomial name Abies alba Mill. ... A decidous beech forest in Slovenia. ... Binomial name Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Species About 30; see text Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia (where the greatest species diversity is found), Europe and eastern North America; it is absent from western North America. ... The MAPLE (Multipurpose Applied Physics Lattice Experiment) dedicated isotope-production facility is a current project jointly undertaken by AECL and MDS Nordion. ...

Population

The densely populated Swiss plateau: View from the Uetliberg on Zürich. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1876x300, 121 KB) en: View on Zürich Blick auf Zürich Photographer: Stefan Kühn (photo enhanced by: Larus1) File links The following pages link to this file: Swiss plateau ... The Ãœetliberg (873 m, 47. ...

Even though the Swiss plateau takes only about 30% of the surface of Switzerland, 5 million people live there, that is more than two thirds of the Swiss population. The population density is 380 people per square kilometer. All the Swiss cities with more than 50 000 inhabitants except Basel are situated in the plateau, especially Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and Zürich. The agglomerations of these cities are the most populated areas. Other densely populated areas are the south edge of the Jura and the agglomerations of Lucerne, Winterthur and St. Gallen. Regions of the higher Swiss plateau like the Jorat region, the Napf region or the Töss region are comparingly scarcely populated with little farming villages and scattered farms. Location within Switzerland Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: Basel , French: Bâle , Italian and Spanish: Basilea ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands... Location within Switzerland The city of Bern, English traditionally Berne (Bernese German Bärn , German Bern , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland, and is the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ... Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German: (help· info) //, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland, situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River. ... Lausanne is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura hills to its north. ... Location within Switzerland (help· info) (German pronunciation IPA: ; in English often Zurich, without the umlaut) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... Location within Switzerland View of the city from Lake Lucerne Another view across Lake Lucerne The Lion Monument Lucerne (German: (help· info)) is a city in Central Switzerland with a population of 60,274 (December 31, 2003), capital of the Canton of Lucerne. ... Winterthur is a city in the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland. ... Location within Switzerland St. ...

A majority is German-speaking, though the west is French-speaking. The language border has been stable for many centuries even though it falls neither on a geographical nor on a political delimitation. It passes from Biel/Bienne over Murten/Morat and Freiburg/Fribourg to the Fribourg Alps. The cities of Biel/Bienne, Murten/Morat and Freiburg/Fribourg are officially bilingual. Localities along the language border have usually both a German and a French name. Place du Ring in Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne is a town in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. ... Berntor in Murten Murten (in German) Morat (in French) is a town in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, on the southern shores of Lake Murten. ... For other uses, see Fribourg (disambiguation). ...

History of settlement: The first areas to be settled in the Neolithic were the watersides of lakes and rivers. Major oppida were built after the Celts appeared in the 3rd century BC. Urban settlements with stone houses were built during the Roman Empire. The Swiss plateau became a part of the Roman Empire 15 BC when the Romans occupied the land of the Helvetii under the reign of Augustus and it remained Roman until the end of the 3rd century. The most important Roman cities in the Swiss plateau were Auenticum (today Avenches), Vinddonissa (today Windisch), Colonia Iulia Equestris or, by its Celtic name, Noviodunum (today Nyon) and Augusta Raurica (today Kaiseraugst). They were well connected by a net of Roman roads. After the retreat of the Roman Empire, the western Swiss plateau was occupied by the romanized Burgundians, the central and the eastern plateau by the Alamanni, thus emerging the language border. An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland. ... An oppidum (pl: oppida) was Latin for the main settlement in any administrative area of the Roman Empire. ... A Celtic cross. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Events Teotihuacán, Mexico begun The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Gaulish migration to Macedon, Thrace and Galatia 282-226: Colossus of Rhodes 281 BC Antiochus I Soter, on the assassination... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC - 10s BC - 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s Years: 20 BC 19 BC 18 BC 17 BC 16 BC 15 BC 14 BC 13 BC 12 BC 11 BC 10 BC... A map of Gaul showing the northern Alpine position of the Helvetii. ... The famous statue of Octavian at the Prima Porta Caesar Augustus (Latin:IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS) ¹ (23 September 63 BC–19 August AD 14), known to modern historians as Octavian for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, is considered the first and one of the most... // Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first... Avenches is a commune in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, seat of the district with the same name. ... Windisch is a municipality of the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. ... Nyons flag has a fish over red and blue stripes. ... Augusta Raurica is a large Roman archaeological site in Switzerland. ... A Roman road in Pompeii The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by enabling them to move armies. ... The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr (the Island of the Burgundians), and from here to mainland Europe. ... The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were an alliance of warbands formed from Germanic tribes, first mentioned by Dio Cassius when they fought Caracalla in 213. ...

During the Middle Ages many towns were founded, especially in the climatically more favoured lower plateau. In 1500, there were already 130 towns, connected by a dense road network. With the raise of the industrialisation in the early 19th century, the cities became more and more important. In 1860, a drastical population growth of the cities started which lasted for about 100 years. In the 1970s, however, an outmigration from the cities started. Therefore, the municipalities surrounding the cities grew disproportionately, whereas the cities themselves lost inhabitants. In the recent times, the outmigration moves farther away from the cities. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... 1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Industrialisation or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial (an economy where the amount of capital accumulated is low) to an industrial state (see Pre-industrial society). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

Economy

Thanks to favourable climate and fertile grounds, the lower western plateau is the most important agricultural region of Switzerland. The most important cultures are wheat, barley, maize, sugar beet and potato; especially in the Seeland, vegetables are very important, too. Along the northern shores of the lakes of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Biel, Murten as well as in the Zürich Weinland and Klettgau, there is viticulture. Grassland with dairy farming and beef production is predominant in the eastern plateau and in the higher regions. Especially in the Thurgau, fruit (apples) is important. Species T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, commonly grown for its starchy tuber. ... Vegetables in a market Venn diagram representing the relationship between (botanical) fruits and vegetables. ... wine grapes Viticulture (from the Latin word for vine) refers to the cultivation of grapes, often for use in the production of wine. ... Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or more properly, an animal husbandry enterprise, raising female cattle for long-term production of milk, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy for processing and eventual retail sale. ... Beef Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ...

The forests in the Swiss plateau are used in forestry. There are many Norway Spruce forestations, often in monoculture because of their valuable timber.

With respect to industry, the plateau is the most important region of Switzerland. The traditional textile industries are situated especially in the central and eastern regions. During the last decades, however, it lost importance. Today's most important industries are the machine industry, the automotive industry, the electrical industry, the fine mechanical industry, the optical industry and metal construction. The food industry processes domestic as well as foreign produces. Furthermore, wood processing and paper converting are also important.

hydroelectric power plant Mühleberg (Wohlensee)

Like all Switzerland, there are few mineral resources. Thanks to the Ice Age glaciers, there is plenty of gravel and clay. The gravel digging in the Ice Age gravel terraces all over the Swiss plateau covers the demands of the construction industry. Image File history File links Wasserkraftwerk_Wohlensee. ... Image File history File links Wasserkraftwerk_Wohlensee. ...

Numerous hydroelectric power plants in the rivers produce electicity. All five Swiss nuclear power plants are situated in the plateau.

Transportation

Because of the comparingly easy topography and the dense population, the transport network is highly developed. The most important transversal, so to speak the backbone of the Swiss plateau, is the A1 motorway that connects all the big cities going from Geneva over Lausanne, Bern, Zürich and Winterthur until St. Gallen. The A2, the Swiss north-south axis, crosses the plateau from Olten to Luzern.

The railway network is very dense. All major cities are connected, and between Olten and Lausanne, there are two main lines: One passing over Bern and Fribourg, the other passing over the edge of the Jura with Solothurn, Biel, Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains. The train ride from Zürich to Bern takes one hour, crossing the entire Swiss plateau from St. Gallen to Geneva takes four hours.

The two most important Swiss airports are situated in the plateau, Zurich International Airport and Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The capital of Switzerland, Bern, has only a small airport, Bern Belpmoos Airport. Arrivals Lounge Interior of airport terminal Zurich International Airport (IATA: ZRH, ICAO: LSZH) also called Kloten Airport, is located at 47°29′N 8°32′E in Kloten, canton of Zurich, Switzerland and managed by Unique Airport. ... Geneva Cointrin International Airport (IATA Airport Code: GVA) is an airport in Geneva (Switzerland). ... Berne Airport, which serves Berne, Switzerland, is actually closer to the village of Belp. ...

Tourism

Other than the Swiss Alps, the plateau, and especially the rural plateau, is not geared to tourism. It is mainly a transit region. There is city tourism in the major cities with their touristical attractions, especially the Old Towns of Bern and Lucerne, but also Zürich, St. Gallen, Fribourg, Geneva and Lausanne. An important natural touristic attraction is the Rhine Fall near Schaffhausen. The lakes also attract tourists, and then there are several spa towns, Baden, Schinznach-Bad, Yverdon-les-Bains and Zurzach, thanks to their hydrothermal vents. Rhine falls with castle Laufen The Rhine Falls (Rheinfall in German) are the largest waterfalls of Europe. ... A spa town is a town frequented, in times past, for health reasons, to take the waters. The name derives from the Belgian town Spa, and in continental Europe, a spa was known as a ville deau (town of water). ... Baden old town Location within Switzerland Baden is a town in the Swiss canton of Aargau, on the left bank of the river Limmat, 25 km N.W. of Zürich. ... Location within Switzerland Yverdon-les-Bains (called Eburodunum during the Roman era) is a town in the Vaud canton of Switzerland, located on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. ... Zurzach is commune in Zurzach in Aargau & in Switzerland Flag of Zurzach Categories: Switzerland geography stubs ... A hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues. ...

See also

• Switzerland
• History of Switzerland

Since 1848, the Swiss Confederation has been a federal state of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, arguably putting them among the worlds oldest surviving republics. ...

References

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language wikipedia article (retrieved July 26, 2005). The following references are cited by that German-language article: July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ...

• Toni P. Labhart: Geologie der Schweiz. Ott Verlag, Thun, 2004. ISBN 3722567629.
• François Jeanneret und Franz Auf der Maur: Der grosse Schweizer Atlas. Kümmerly + Frey, Geographischer Verlag, Bern, 1992. ISBN 3259088504.
• Andre Odermatt und Daniel Wachter: Schweiz, eine moderne Geographie. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich, 2004. ISBN 3038230979.

External links

• ((German)) Geologie der Schweiz
• ((German)) Geologie des Mittellandes
• Mittelland in German, French or Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland is a project to develop an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland started in 1988. ...