rs, came to regard them as a challenge and set themselves thetasks of conquering the hitherto virgin peaks. By the end of the century, practically everypeak had been climbed. The best known mountains are the Alps, but Switzerland has asecond range, the Jura, where numerous dinosaur fossils have been found, and whichgave its name to the Jurassic geological period. The average height of the mountains ofthe Swiss Alps is 1,700 meters (5,576 feet). The snow line begins at 2,500 meters (8,200feet). There are around 100 mountains which are 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) or higherand about 1,800 glaciers.The mountains for recreation Almost half of the country is above 1,200 meters (3,936feet) altitude and is either used extensively or not at all. The Alps provide recreation andrelaxation for the urban population. Mountain railways have been constructed, as well assports centres, hotels and vacation homes. People are proud of the steepest, highest,fastest railways. 60 percent of tourism is concentrated in the Alps and their foothills. Thisprovides employment in the mountain regions, but also causes ecological problems. 75percent of tourists arrive by private car.The beautiful landscapeSwitzerland is justly famous for the varied beauty of the countryside, its undulatinglandscape with the odd farm and sleepy village, its woods and meadows, its lakes and themajestic mountains. The names of countless Swiss towns and villages hint at the natureof the country. Place names that contain the syllable -berg indicate a mountain, those in -bhl, - egg, -halden or -rain point to a hill. A name containing -moos indicates a swamp,while -ried was a reed bed. Fields also occur frequently, as in -acher, -feld, -matt or-wang. Ticino has many place names containing words such as Campo, Prato, Piano orMonte. And while names ending in -wil or -weil derive from farms, many others containhidden reminders of how hard the early inhabitants had to work to clear the land in ...
