Switzerland - Alpine, Multicultural, Federalism

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Switzerland - Alpine, Multicultural, Federalism: The diversity of geomorphology, climate, and plant distribution in Switzerland provides a wide variety of settlement sites, a variety further enhanced by the country’s central European location. Rural settlements predominate in the valleys, where characteristic Alpine villages extend along the base of slopes. Since the creation of extensive river diversions, undertaken chiefly during the second half of the 19th century, many villages (e.g., in the Seeland between Lakes Neuchâtel and Biel) have expanded into valley plains, where intensive farming occurs. The isolation of portions of many valleys—such as those of the Rheinwald, Poschiavo, and Urseren—by barriers of resistant rock or
Switzerland, federated country of central Europe. Switzerland’s administrative capital is Bern, while Lausanne serves as its judicial center. Switzerland’s small size—its total area is about half that of Scotland—and its modest population give little indication of its international significance.