The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif ( or ; ; ) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

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 ...

, located at the border of four cantons:

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, Uri and Graubünden. It is delimited by the Nufenen Pass on the west, by the Furka Pass and the Oberalp Pass on the north and by the Lukmanier Pass on the east. The eponymous Gotthard Pass, lying at the heart of the massif, is the main route from north to south (excluding tunnels). The region of the Gotthard lies at the heart of the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, often referred to as the "water tower of Europe". Three major rivers take their source in the Gotthard Massif: the Reuss,

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 ...

and

. A fourth river, the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, takes its source in very close proximity of the massif, just north of the Furka Pass. A trekking itinerary, the Vier-Quellen-Weg ("four springs trail"), crosses the Gotthard Massif.

Peaks

The highest peaks of the massif are Pizzo Rotondo Karl Baedeker, ''Switzerland and the Adjacent Portions of Italy, Savoy, and Tyrol'', 1911, p. 154 (3,192 m) in the southwest, Pizzo Centrale (2,999 m) near the centre and Piz Gannaretsch (3,040 m) in the northeast. There is no peak named ''Gotthard''.

Tunnels

There are three long tunnels traversing the Gotthard Massif: * Gotthard (Rail) Tunnel, railway culmination tunnel (1882, 15 km) * Gotthard Road Tunnel, motorway tunnel (1980, 17 km) * Gotthard Base Tunnel, railway lowest-level tunnel (2016, 57 km)

References

Mountain ranges of Switzerland Mountain ranges of Graubünden Landforms of Ticino Landforms of Valais Landforms of the canton of Uri Mountain ranges of the Alps Lepontine Alps {{Ticino-mountain-stub