Photos

This series of photographs is offering a short journey around Switzerland, a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, bordering with France, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy.
Switzerland (the Swiss Confederation) consists of following 20 cantons (states) and 6 half-cantons: Aargau, Appenzell Ausserhoden*, Appenzell Innerhoden*, Basel Landschaft*, Basel Stadt*, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Glarus, Graubünden, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchatel, Nidwalden*, Obwalden*, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug and Zurich (*=half-canton).
From each canton I’ll post 2 photos and from each half-canton 1 photo, total 46 photographs.

Valais

The canton Valais lies in the southwestern part of Switzerland around the valley of the Rhone River from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhone valley. Paradoxically, it is also one of best-watered parts, having large amounts of snow and rain up on the highest peaks found in Switzerland. The canton of Valais is probably best known for the Matterhorn and ski resorts such as Zermatt and Verbier. It shares borders with Italy to the south, France to the southwest, canton Vaud to the north and cantons Uri and Ticino to the east. The capital city is Sion.

The photo shows a view from Hohtenn to Rhone River Valley and the town of Visp in background.

The pretty little old town of Visp in the Rhone Valley is one of the most important cultural and wine-growing centres in the Valais. With the opening of the Lötschberg base tunnel, Visp became a new railway hub for visits to the central and upper Valais, and excursions to Saas-Fee, Zermatt, Leukerbad and the Aletsch Glacier.

The Rhone River, one of the major rivers of Europe, rises as an effluent of the Rhone Glacier in Valais, in the Swiss Alps, at an altitude of approximately 2,150m.

Down as far as Brig, the Rhone is a torrent; it then becomes a great mountain river running southwest through a glacier valley. Between Brig and Martigny, it collects waters mostly from the valleys of the Pennine Alps to the south, whose rivers originate from the large glaciers of the massifs of Monte Rosa, Dom, and Grand Combin.

After Martigny, the river turns northwest towards Lake Geneva and separates the Chablais Alps from the Bernese Alps. It enters Lake Geneva near the Swiss town of Bouveret and exits it at the city of Geneva before entering France. After a course of 290 kilometers the Rhone leaves Switzerland.

Visp is located 101km south from Bern and 195km southwest from Zurich.

You can see more photos from Switzerland on my website www.mrsphoto.net/1-PhotoAlbum/3.1-Switzerland.htm