SWITZERLAND!). 



SWITZERLAND. 



7t 



MM! th now-capped mountain* of the Kiniteraarhoni 

 Betwwn UM lake* of Zug and Lurn stand* the totaled 

 _.l of the Rlghi. which it much viaiUd by trarellen, and rites 

 la 5I* (tot The dbMe* between the Lake of ConiUni and the 

 Thur I* enrrtiv*ly lerel; the hill* rise to a Tery moderate 

 elevation, and their dope* are to gradual, ai to admit of cultiratinn. 

 TUe fa eooeidered to be the moet fertile tract in all SwiUerland. The 

 lakttfcore between Arbon and Stein on the Khine present* a sucoeinion 

 of eWn**d6eld, orchard*, vineyard*, and artificial meadow*. Betide* 

 mala* and all other aorta of grain cultivated north of the Alp*, large 

 qnantjtiet of hemp and flax are here grown. The noil of the remainder 

 of tfcie region It leu fertile ; the larger portion of the surface it ued a* 

 neatare and meadow land. The country along the northern bank* of 

 the Lake of Zurich it rery little inferior to the tract along the Lake 

 of Comtanx. There are many tmall lake* in this hilly country, and 

 they contain more fith titan the alpine lake*. The lanrt lake* of 

 then are thoM of Wallrattadt and Zurich. The Lake of Wallenitadt, 

 the L*c* Ripariut of the ancients, is 10 miles long and 24 miles in 

 width. It i* in most placet from 60 to 80 fathom* deep. Its northern 

 bore* are extremely iteep, rocky, and high, and at the distance of 

 barely a mile from them the Kurfinten nige rise* from 4000 to 5000 

 feet above the Bea-lerel : on the south the shore* are also rocky and 

 enp, but let* elevated, and the Mdrtschenstock range attains its 

 higtiMt deration at the distance of 2 or 3 mile* from the lake : at 

 the two extremities it is bordered by low tract*. The surface is 

 1424 feet above the Ma-level. The Late of Zurich is about 24 miles 

 long; 3 mile* wide, and has the form of a section of a circle, the 

 enrratnre being directed toward* the south-south-west. It is divided 

 by two projecting point* into two sections, of which the eastern is 

 called Ober-Soe : the surface is 1310 feet above the sea-level. Near 

 He axtern extremity is a level tract of some extent, but, with this 

 exception, the shore* are surrounded by gently-eloping hills, covered 

 with vineyard*, orchard*, anil cultivated fields. In a few places it is 

 tated to be 100 fathom* deep. The largest river* of this region are 

 the Thnr and Limmat The Thttr rises in a valley which separate* 

 the Kurfirtten range from the Alpstein Mountains, and at first runs 

 weet, but turns gradually to the north. After a course of about 

 30 mile* it make* a great bend to the east, and then flows westward 

 to it* confluence with the Rhine above Eglisau. Its whole course 

 exceeds 65 mile*. Nearly one-half of it lies in a narrow but rich 

 pastoral valley, the Toggenbur;* [GALL, ST.], between mountains ; and 

 the remainder of the course between moderate and well-cultivated or 

 wooded hills. The Thur i* too rapid for navigation. The Limmat 

 originate*, under the name of the Linth, on the northern declivity of 

 the Dodi, and traverse* the mountain region of that name in a 

 northern direction, and in a very narrow valley until it meet* the 

 Lake of Wallenstadt [Gr.ARua.) Formerly it did not fall into the 

 lake. It U subject to a very sudden and great increase of water, and 

 it frequently inundated the low tract between the lakes of Wallenstadt 

 and Zurich, and destroyed the crop* of that fertile district. In 1821 

 a canal was made, by which the waters of the Linth are carried to the 

 Lake of Wallenstadt, and another canal in the middle of the low 

 tract, which is wide and deep enough to receive all the water from 

 the Lake of Wallenstadt, and to carry it to the Lake of Zurich. This 

 canal it called the Linth Canal The river issuing from the western 

 extremity of the Lake of Zurich is called the Limmat. It runs about 

 18 mile* in a weit-north-west direction, until it falls into the Aar, a 

 few mile* below Baden, in the canton of Aargau. The Limmat is 

 navigated, but it can only be ascended by empty boats, on account of 

 the rapidity of the current 



IIL The Plain of Switzerland extends in the direction of north- 

 east from the banks of the Lake of Geneva to the lower course of the 

 Ren** from Roth to it* confluence with the Aar. Its western border 

 jofa* the Jura Mountains. This plain is properly a large valley, sur- 

 rounded by mountain*, and extending south-west and north-east 

 more than 100 mile* in length, with a breadth varying from 20 

 to 30 mile*. 



On the southern and western border of tho plain are four consider- 

 able lake* : the lake* of Geneva, Neufchatef, Morat, and Bienne, 

 which are at different elevations above the aea-level ; the Lake of 

 Genera i* 18J8 feet above the tea, Morat i* 1450 feet, Neufchfitel 



feet, and Bienne 1410 feet A high .well, which is called Mont 

 Jorat, extend* westward from the Dent-de-Jaman, the most western 

 summit of the Alp* in this part of Switzerland, to the Lake of 

 Oeoeva, between Montreux and Vevay. It proceeds westward along 

 the lake and close to its banks to Ouchy, we.t of Lausanne. The 

 cUvity with which it descends towards the lake is in many 



IBM between Vevay and Lausanne to *teep, that the road between 



tee* two town* i* cut in the rock. At Ouchy it recede* from the 



lake, and run. north-wett toward* the Jura Mountain*; but it does 



reach them, being divided from these mountains by a narrow 



Oepreetlon. This depreation is chiefly covered with swamp*, from 



wMoh a tmall river, called Noton, run* northward and join* the Orbe, 



which fall* into the Lake of NeufchAtol; whilst the Voiron, another 



dl river originating in the same depre*ion, flow* southward to the 



Lake of Genera. Mont Jorat descends gradually towards the north, 



and 1U long slopes extend to the distance of 10 mile* from the Lake 



of KeufchateL Where it 1* crowed by the road leading from Lauonne 



to Moudon, its upper crest is 3039 feet above the sea-level ; but farther 

 eut, in the vicinity of tho Alps, it rises to 3800 feet The whole 

 country between the lakes of Geneva and Neufchatel, with tho 

 exception of the steep descent towards the Lake of Geneva, present* 

 a luooeuion of round-backed hills or short range*, sloping very 

 gradually on all sides, and interspersed witli open valley*, which 

 frequently enlarge to small plains. The eminence* decrease in ele- 

 vation as they approach the Lake of Neufchatel, and the country on 

 it* banks can only be called undulating. There are few tracts which 

 cannot be cultivated. The Boil is rather fruitful ; the whole country 

 is covered either with corn-fields, on which maize, wheat, liarley, &c., 

 are grown, or with orchard* or vineyards. The vineyards are very 

 extensive on the Lake of Geneva, and yield some good wine. The 

 plantation* of chestnut-trees are extensive, and almond-trees and 

 fig-trees abound. 



Another swell of high ground traverses the plain in a different 

 direction. It i* connected with the Jorat Mountain* south-east of 

 Moudon, and extends thence in a north-east by east direction to the 

 town of Freyburg. From Freyburg it passes south of the town of 

 Bern, where it declines more to the east, terminating at Mont Napf, 

 which stands on the north-western border of the mountain region. 

 This swell rise* about 1000 feet above its base, which may be 1500 feet 

 above the sea-level It contains a few summits : one of the highest of 

 them is Mont Butschel, south of the town of Bern, which rise* to 

 3450 feet above the sea-level. On the spacious and level summit and 

 the gentle declivities of this swell, pastures and cultivated fields 

 succeed one another, with orchards and vineyards. 



The remainder of the plain has generally an undulating surface, the 

 eminences rarely rising into hills, and most of the slopes being gentle. 

 There occur also some level tracts, the largest of which is the low 

 country between the lakes of Neufchatel, Morat, and Bienne, which, 

 when the rains have been very abundant, is overflowed. Within this 

 portion of the plain only a few isolated summits occur, which rise 

 from 1000 to 2000 feet above their base. The highest of them is the 

 Biintiger, north-east of Bern, which rises to 3438 feet. The soil is of 

 moderate fertility ; it is mostly under the plough, and produces all 

 kinds of grain, as well as hemp and flax. Vineyards are not extensive, 

 and the wine is not good ; but other fruits, especially apples, pears, 

 plums, walnuts, aud cherries, are very abundant : from the cherries 

 kirschwasser is made. At the north-eastern extremity of this country 

 is the Lindenberg, a moderate swell, about 500 feet above its base, 

 which is remarkable for the horizontal line in which its crest runs for 

 20 miles, between Roth and Lenzburg. Not an eminence is observed 

 on it 



The principal river of this plain is the Aar, which receives the 

 Saane, Thiele or Ziel, Kmmen, and Reuss. None of these affluents of 

 the Aar is navigable, except the Thiele, which is navigated by river- 

 barges and steam-boats to the lakes of Bienne and Neufchatel The 

 largest lakes are those of Geneva [LEMAN], Neufchatel [NEUFCHATEL], 

 Morat [FREYBURO, vol. ii. col. 1095], and Uienne [BERN, vol. i. 

 col 1050]. These lakes abound in fish. In the north-eastern dis- 

 tricts of the plain are several smaller lakes. The largest of them is 

 that of Sempach, north-west of Luzern, which is about 5 miles long, 

 but in no part more than a mile wide. It is 1695 feet above the sea- 

 level, and 256 feet above the Lake of Luzern, which shows that the 

 country has a considerable rise between the two lake*. 



IV. The Region of the Jura Mountains occupies the west part of 

 Switzerland, lying between the plain and France. This elevated region 

 occupies about 150 miles in length, with a width of about 30 miles. 

 It extends from the Rhdne, where that river runs underground (Perte- 

 du-Rhdne), in a north-east direction, to the banks of the Aar and the 

 Rhine. About half of this region lies within France. In Switzerland 

 it extends over the western districts of the canton of Vaud, the whole 

 area of that of Neufchatel, the north-western districts of Bern, the 

 greater parts of Solothurn and Basel, aud a portion of Aargau. It 

 rises from the Plain of Switzerland with a steep ascent to an elevation 

 of 3000 feet, and at this elevation it is traversed in its length by many 

 low chains, which divide the whole surface of the region into numerous 

 longitudinal valleys. Many of these valleys are connected with one 

 another by depressions, while others are entirely surrounded by hills, 

 and the water which collects in them escapes by natural tunnels. On 

 the low and narrow ridges which divide these valleys a few summits 

 rise from 600 to 2000 feet above their base. The highest summits of 

 the Jura Mountains are in France. Within Switzerland are Mont 

 Dole (5515 feet) and Mont Tendre (5522 feet), which lie west and 

 north-west of the Lake of Geneva, and Mont Chasseron (5223 feet), 

 west of tho Lake of Neufchatel, and Mont Chasseral (5211 feet), 

 north-west of tho Lake of Bienne. Mont Terrible, which stands close 

 to the great bend of the Doubs and on the north-west edge of the 

 Jura Mountains, attains only 2558 feet above the sea-level. But in tho 

 southern and central part of this region are several other summits 

 which rise between 4000 and 5000 feet. 



South of the Lake of Neufchatel the Jura Mountains do not rise 

 abruptly from the plain, but a lower range, a kind of terrace of small 

 width, lies between them, which is called La-Cote, and in its southern 

 parts is covered with vineyards, between Geneva and Merges. Further 

 north arc plantations of mulberry-trees for the use of silk-worms. 

 There are also numerous orchards, and in some part* the slopes are 



