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 higher t ...
(more precisely, a
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
) in the
Glarus Alps
The Glarus Alps () 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 the Glarus Alps contains ...
with two main peaks: Haldensteiner Calanda (2805 m) and Felsberger Calanda (2697 m), both located on the border between the cantons of
St. Gallen and
Graubünden in eastern
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It looms over
Chur
''
Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...
, the capital city of
Graubünden.
Although Felsberger Calanda's
topographic prominence
In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...
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
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
(to the southeast) and the
Tamina (to the northwest), and is separated from the
Ringelspitz 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,
Untervaz,
Haldenstein,
Felsberg and
Tamins
Tamins () 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''.
Geography
Tami ...
, whereas most of the steeper slopes on the northwest lie in the
Canton of St. Gallen, in the municipality of
Pfäfers.
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 ( : 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.
T ...
es are regularly seen.
A
Swiss Alpine Club
The Swiss Alpine Club (, , , ) is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 110 sections with 174,726 members (2023). These include the Association of British Members of the Swiss ...
mountain hut
A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...
, 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 route finding and a
head for heights
To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia (irrational fear of heights), and is also not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo (the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down ...
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
Felsberg, Switzerland