The Jungfrau-Aletsch

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

(officially Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch) is located in south-western

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 ...

between the cantons of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

and

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 ...

. It is a mountainous region in the easternmost side of the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

, containing the northern wall of

Jungfrau The Jungfrau (, , , "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönc ...

and

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

, and the largest glaciated area in western Eurasia, comprising the

Aletsch Glacier The Aletsch Glacier (, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Valais. The A ...

. The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is the first World Natural Heritage site in the Alps; it was inscribed in 2001.Approval of site extension and management plan for Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn World Natural Heritage, DETEC
. Retrieved on 2009-10-18

Geography and climate

The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is located in 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 ...

between the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

and north-eastern

, about 25 km south of

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

and 20 km north of

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

. The site covers the whole Aar massif from the

Oeschinensee Oeschinen Lake () is a lake in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, east of Kandersteg in the Oeschinen Valley. At an elevation of , it has a surface area of . Its maximum depth is . Since 2007 the lake has been part of the Jungfrau- Aletsch-Bietsc ...

in the west to the

Grimselsee The Grimselsee or Lake Grimsel is an artificial lake near the Grimsel Pass in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. With a volume of 95 mio m3 (20.9 billion imperial gallons, 20.1 billion US gallons), it is larger than other hydroelectric reservoirs in ...

(not comprised) in the east, including the basins of the Aletsch, Fiescher,

Aar The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

and

Grindelwald Grindelwald is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Berne. In additio ...

glaciers. The culminating point is the

Finsteraarhorn The Finsteraarhorn () is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Canton of Bern, Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the List of prominent mountains of Switzerland, most prominent peak of Switzerland. ...

which, with its 4,270 metres, is also the highest mountain in the

. 8 other summits above 4,000 metres are located in the area:

Aletschhorn The Aletschhorn () is a mountain in the Alps in Switzerland, lying within the Jungfrau-Aletsch region, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The mountain shares part of its name with the Aletsch Glacier lying at its foot. T ...

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the ...

Schreckhorn The Schreckhorn (4,078 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, Bernese Swiss Alps, Alps. It is the highest peak located entirely in the canton of Bern. The Schreckhorn is the northernmost List of Alpine four-thousanders, Alpine four-thousander and ...

Gross Fiescherhorn Grosses Fiescherhorn is a mountain peak of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais, halfway between the Mönch and the Finsteraarhorn. At above sea level, its summit culminates over the whole Fiescherhorn ...

, Hinter Fiescherhorn,

Grünhorn The Grünhorn (or ''Gross Grünhorn'') (4,043 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps range of the Swiss Alps. It is located on the ridge between the two largest glaciers of the Alps: the Aletsch Glacier to the west and the Fiescher Glacier to the ...

and Lauteraarhorn. The summit ridge separating the cantons of Valais and Bern is the main watershed of Europe. The principal valleys on the north side run due north below the precipitous 20 kilometer north wall of the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, thence to the

, a tributary 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 ...

which runs into the North Sea. The southern valleys drain into the southwest running valley of the Rhone which flows into the Mediterranean sea. The climate of the region is strongly influenced by the height of the mountains. They form a barrier between the wet sub-oceanic climate of the north and the drier climate of the south-facing Valais slopes. On the north side the rainfall exceeds 2,200 mm, most falling in summer, but on the south side it is only 1,000 mm, with more falling in winter. The Valais experiences a subcontinental climate at low and medium altitudes and is markedly semi-arid. Mean annual temperatures range from -8.5 °C at

Jungfraujoch The Jungfraujoch (German language, German: lit. "maiden saddle") is a Saddle (landform), saddle connecting two major Four-thousander, 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of above sea level and is dir ...

(3,500 m) to 9.1 °C at

(700 m).

Physical features

The Jungfrau-Aletsch site is almost untouched, except for trails and mountain huts. It is deeply glaciated. About half of the area is higher than 2,600 metres, a few hundred metres lower than the limit between the glaciers accumulation and ablation zones. The total area covered by glacier is 35,000 ha, it constitutes the largest continuous area of ice 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. ...

. The largest and longest glacier in the Alps, the Aletsch Glacier is 23 km long and has a maximum thickness of 900 metres at

Konkordiaplatz The Konkordiaplatz or Concordia Place (French: Place de la Concorde), is a flat area of snow and ice lying just to the south of the Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. It is the junction of four large glaciers coming down ...

Area

The protected site covers an area of 82,388 ha, comprising the 53,888 ha existing World Heritage Site plus extensions at both ends totaling 28,500 ha. 56% is within the Canton of Valais, 44% within the Canton of Bern.

Flora and fauna

Glaciers and barren rock constitute 80% of the area; 6% is forested, 5.2% is alpine meadow, and 8% is scrub. Altitude is the strongest factor influencing the distribution and diversity of the vegetation. Within the nominated area there are 1,800 species of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...

s and 700

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es. The growing period decreases with altitude, but there are 529 species of

phanerogam A seed plant or spermatophyte (; New Latin ''spermat-'' and Greek ' (phytón), plant), also known as a phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or a phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds. It is a category of embryophyte (i.e. la ...

s and

pteridophyte A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that reproduces by means of spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as " cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is ...

s above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

. Broadleaf montane forest extends from 900 m to 1,300 m on north- facing slopes. On south-facing slopes the same zone is approximately 200 m higher. The

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

lies between 1,300 m to 2,000 m, between the broadleaf and alpine zone. Characteristic species are the

Swiss Pine ''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine, Arolla pine, Austrian stone pine, or just stone pine, is a species of pine tree in the subgenus ''Strobus''. Description The Swiss pine is a member of the white pine group, ''Pinu ...

(''Pinus Cembra'') and the

Norway Spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very clo ...

(''Picea abies'') on the north and south side respectively. An example of Pinus cembra forest is the Aletsch Forest above the

and near the tree line. It developed on the moraine of the glacier after its maximum extension in 1850. The zone directly above the tree line forms a girdle of moorland vegetation and Alpine grassland. Alpine Ibex

1,250 fauna species have been recorded on the site, including 271 vertebrates: 42 mammals, 99 birds, eight reptiles, four amphibians and seven fish, and numerous invertebrates including 97 molluscs and 979 insects. As for the rest of the Alps, common species are the

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

(''Rupicapra rupicapra''), alpine ibex (''Capra ibex''),

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

(''Cervus elaphus''). Smaller mammals include the

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...

(''Lepus timidus''),

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

(''Vulpes vulpes''), ermine (''Mustela erminea''),

marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

(''Marmota marmota'') and the reintroduced

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

(''Felis lynx'').

Tourism

The regions of the

and

have been popular tourist destinations since the 19th century. The

was first climbed in 1811 and the

in 1812. The first tourists came mostly in summer, but in the 1930s winter sports became also popular. On the north side visitors are only able to visit the site via the Jungfrau railway which leads to the

. The railway has turned the site from an inaccessible mountain face to a very accessible site visited by large nearby populations. The

Jungfrau railway The Jungfrau Railway (, , JB) is a mountain rack railway in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, connecting Kleine Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland to the Jungfraujoch, across the Valais border. It is the highest railway in Switzerland and Europe, ru ...

was built between 1870 and 1912, taking visitors from

Kleine Scheidegg The Kleine Scheidegg () is a mountain pass at an elevation of , situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the two arms of the L ...

(2,061 m) to Jungfraujoch (3,454 m), the saddle between the

and Jungfrau. On the south side the area of

Riederalp Riederalp () is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It was created in 2003 through the merger of Goppisberg, Greich and Ried-Mörel.Bettmeralp Bettmeralp is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Betten and Martisberg merged into the municipality of Bettmeralp.Kandersteg Kandersteg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. ...

and the

Lötschental The Lötschental () is the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies in the Bernese Alps, with the running down the length of the valley from its source within the Langgletscher ...

. The network of foot-paths is well developed around the site but nonexistent through it, the centre being inaccessible to walkers. The site can only be accessed by experienced mountaineers and there is a series of 37 shelters and five mountain refuges with a total of 1,582 beds, managed by the

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 ...

. The Aletsch ecological centre in Riederalp is run by Pro Natura functions as a visitor center.

History

*1933: The protection of the Aletsch forest is assumed by the canton of Valais *1960: The canton of Bern assumes the protection of the upper

Lauterbrunnen Valley Lauterbrunnen () is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality comprises the other villages of Wengen, Mürren, Gimmelwald, Stechelberg, and Isenfluh ...

*1983: The Bernese Alps are included on the

Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments The ''Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments'' in Switzerland aims to protect landscapes of national importance. The inventory is part of a 1977 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of ...

, with a revision of the area in 1998 *2001: The area is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list under the name ''Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn'' *2007: Extension of the site, new name ''Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch''

Notes and references

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, United Nation Environment Programme
*

Swisstopo Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland's national mapping agency. The current name was made official in 2002. It had been used as the domain name for the homepage of the instituteswisstopo.admi ...

maps

External links

* {{Authority control World Heritage Sites in Switzerland Protected areas of Switzerland Protected areas established in 2001 Protected areas of the Alps Geography of the canton of Bern Geography of Valais Landforms of the canton of Bern Landforms of Valais Tourist attractions in the Canton of Bern Tourist attractions in Valais Bern–Valais border