The Calanda is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

(more precisely, a

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

) in the

Glarus Alps The Glarus Alps (german: Glarner Alpen) are a mountain range in central Switzerland. They are bordered by the Uri Alps and the Schwyz Alps to the west, the Lepontine Alps to the south, the Appenzell Alps to the northeast. The eastern part of ...

with two main peaks: Haldensteiner Calanda (2805 m) and Felsberger Calanda (2697 m), both located on the border between the cantons of

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

and Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. It looms over

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxe ...

, the capital city of Graubünden. Although Felsberger Calanda's

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

is 286 metres''—''enough to possibly be considered a mountain in its own right''—''the massif is commonly said to be one mountain with several peaks. It lies between the valleys of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

(to the southeast) and the Tamina (to the northwest), and is separated from the

Ringelspitz The Ringelspitz (also known as ''Piz Barghis'') is a mountain of the Glarus Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of St. Gallen and Graubünden. Reaching a height of 3,248 metres above sea level, it is the highest summit in th ...

by the Kunkels Pass. The name Calanda derives from the Latin "calare", roughly meaning roll down, which refers to the ever-moving southern face that can be seen at Felsberg and is still an active rock slide. The shallow southeastern slopes lie in Graubünden, within the municipalities of

Mastrils Mastrils is a former municipality in the district of Landquart in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Igis and Mastrils merged on 1 January 2012 into the new municipality of Landquart.Untervaz Untervaz is a municipality in the Landquart Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Untervaz is first mentioned between 768-800 as ''Uaze''. Between 801-850 it was mentioned as ''Vazes'' and between 1210-1300 it was called ''Vatz infe ...

Haldenstein Haldenstein is a former municipality in the Plessur Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Haldenstein merged into the municipality of Chur. History Haldenstein is first mentioned in 1149 as ''La ...

, Felsberg and

Tamins Tamins ( rm, Tumein) is a village and a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Tamins is first mentioned in 1224 as ''Tuminne''. In 1225 it was mentioned as ''Tvminnis'' and in 1399 as ''Tumins''. Geogra ...

, whereas most of the steeper slopes on the northwest lie in the

Canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern ...

, in the municipality of

Pfäfers Pfäfers is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The villages Pfäfers, St. Margrethenberg, Vadura, Valens, Vasön and Vättis belong to the municipality. History The '' ...

. Calanda's secondary peaks are called ''Rossfallenspitz'' and ''Güllenchopf'', whereas ''Berger Calanda'' and ''Taminser Calanda'' are less prominent points that mark the ends of the main ridge. On the northerly plateau of Felsberger Calanda,

ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

es are regularly seen. A Swiss Alpine Club

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization ...

, the ''Calandahütte,'' sites on slopes below Haldensteiner Calanda, at an elevation of 2073 m. The two main summits can be reached from the south by hiking: Haldensteiner Calanda by a route rated T3 on the , and Felsberger Calanda by a T4 route, which requires more experience in routefinding and a

head for heights To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia, an irrational fear of heights, and is not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo, the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down fro ...

to a certain degree.Hiking in Switzerland, degree of difficulty
At Felsberg, the local produced wine is called ''Goldene Sonne'', a reminder of a gold mine in the southern face of Calanda.

References

External links

Haldensteiner Calanda on Summitpost
{{Authority control Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Switzerland Mountains of Graubünden Mountains of the canton of St. Gallen Graubünden–St. Gallen border Two-thousanders of Switzerland Tamins Untervaz