Swiss Prealps

The term pre-Alps 1808 introduced by Johann Gottfried Ebel in his work, On the construction of the earth in the Alpine mountains for the Montane height level and called since then in Switzerland, those areas that mark the transition from the hilly Swiss Plateau and the mountainous regions of the Alps. The Alps occupy about 12 % of the country. In addition to the Jura, Mittelland, Alps and Southern Alps are one of the five geographical allocation spaces. Like the Alps they mark an arc between the southwest and northeast of Switzerland. An exact limit to the Alps and the Central Plateau is difficult.

Share of the Alps, the cantons of Vaud, Fribourg ( Fribourg Prealps ), Berne, Lucerne, train, Obwalden and Nidwalden, Schwyz, St. Gallen and the Appenzell region, which is considered characteristic foothills of the Alps. A feature are open all year round road crossings as the road over the Brünigpass, the Jaun pass, the Col des Mosses or Col du Pillon.

The Alps are a predominantly rural, hilly to mountainous strong zone, which is dominated by agriculture, especially livestock. Major peaks are the Rigi, Rossberg, the cup or the Gäbris. Hiking, sightseeing and winter tourism play an important role: The landscape is sparsely populated, also in winter, the larger amounts of snow come often in the foothills lie than in the inner alpine valleys, since precipitation zones are jammed at the first survey.

The somewhat atypical highest peak of the Alps (according to classification of not internationally recognized proposal SOIUSA by Sergio Marazzi ) would be at 2,969 m the Schilthorn, which little well corresponds to the opening and the following definitions and its surrounding valleys certainly not distinguished by Open year-round road crossings. However, the membership of the Appenzell region described above as typical would not entirely clear.

Plans

The following pre-alpine areas are part of the Swiss Alps:

In other representations, in turn, covered the eastern mountains of the Bernese Alps and the mountains of the canton of Lucerne and most of Unterwalden to the Emmental Alps.

Major cities in the foothills are Lucerne, St. Gallen and Thun. The Pre-Alpine Express connects Lucerne St. Gallen.

Located south of the Alpine arc located counterpart to the foothills of the Alps, the Southern Alps.