Geography

Area of 41,277 sq km.
landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe

Bordering countries: France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy

Largest cities: Zürich (population 1.1 million), Geneva (493 thousand), Bern (349 thousand), Lausanne (317 thousand), Lucerne (209 thousand), Basel (165 thousand)

Terrain: a central plateau of rolling hills, plains and large lakes with extensive mountains

Mountains: Alps in the south, Jura in the north-west. Highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Rivers: Rhine, Rhône.  Basel is a river port on the Rhine, exactly on the meeting point of three countries (France, Germany and Switizerland)

Lakes: Geneva, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Bodensee (border with Germany)		 The Matterhorn (4478 m) has become an iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps. It was one of the last Alpine peaks to be climbed and its first ascent in 1865 ended disastrously when four of the climbers in the team fell to their deaths on the descent.