Switzerland

Switzerland Switzerland (French Suisse; German Schweiz; Italian Svizzera), federal republic in west central Europe, bounded on the north by France and Germany, on the east by Austria and Liechtenstein, on the south by Italy, and on the west by France. The country has an area of 41,288 sq km (15,941 sq mi). Its largest city is ZüSwitzerland is one of the most mountainous countries of Europe, with more than 70 percent of its area covered by the Alps, in the central and southern sections, and the Jura, in the northwest. The Swiss Alps are part of the largest mountain system in Europe, and are famous for their jagged peaks and steep gorges. There are several ranges within the Alps, including the Pennine range, which has Switzerland’s highest peak, the 4634-m (15,203-ft) Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa. The Jura (Celtic for “forest”) are much lower and smaller than the Alps, and are popular for cross-country skiing. The renowned Swiss watchmaking industry began in the Jura Mountains. Mediterranean plants and trees such as the palm, magnolia, chestnut, walnut, apple, pear, cherry, and almond grow in the lowlands and on the Swiss plateau. Highly productive forests cover about 26 percent of the total land area, primarily about, swiss, percent, switzerland, forests, center, alps, population, largest, jura, europe, area, west, watchmaking, switzerland’s, sq, spoken, species, several, products, primarily, noted, national, much, million, manufacturing, italian, including, german, ft, france, financial, farms, estimate, elevations, early