Bernese Alps

Bernese Alps
Bernese Alps
	The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau
Highest point
Peak	Finsteraarhorn
Elevation	4,274 m (14,022 ft)
Listing	Mountains of the Alps over 4000 m
Coordinates	46°32′19″N 8°07′38″E / 46.53861°N 8.12722°E
Naming
Native name	German: Berner Alpen; French: Alpes bernoises;
Geography
	Map of Bernese Alps and their location in Switzerland (red)
Country	Switzerland
Cantons	Bern, Vaud, Fribourg and Valais
Range coordinates	46°25′30″N 7°41′37″E / 46.42500°N 7.69361°E
Parent range	Western Alps
Borders on	Chablais Alps, Pennine Alps, Lepontine Alps, Uri Alps and Emmental Alps
Topo map	Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo

The Bernese Alps (German: Berner Alpen, French: Alpes bernoises, Italian: Alpi bernesi) are a mountain range of the Alps, located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Fribourg and Vaud, the latter being usually named Fribourg Alps and Vaud Alps respectively. The highest mountain in the range, the Finsteraarhorn, is also the highest point in the canton of Bern.

The Rhône valley separates them from the Chablais Alps in the west and from the Pennine Alps in the south; the upper Rhône valley separates them from the Lepontine Alps to the southeast; the Grimsel Pass and the Aare valley separates them from the Uri Alps in the east, and from the Emmental Alps in the north; their northwestern edge is not well defined, describing a line roughly from Lake Geneva to Lake Thun. The Bernese Alps are drained by the river Aare and its tributary the Saane in the north, the Rhône in the south, and the Reuss in the east.

The Bernese Alps are amongst the three highest major subranges of the Alps, together with the Pennine Alps and the Mont Blanc massif.^[1]

^ Natural Wonders of the World. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2017. p. 138. ISBN 9780241428436. The Alps contain many subranges, some of which are mapped below. The loftiest are the Pennine Alps, which contain 13 of the highest 20 alpine peaks; the Bernese Alps contain four; and the Mont Blanc Massif in the Graian Alps has three.

[1] Natural Wonders of the World. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2017. p. 138. ISBN 9780241428436. The Alps contain many subranges, some of which are mapped below. The loftiest are the Pennine Alps, which contain 13 of the highest 20 alpine peaks; the Bernese Alps contain four; and the Mont Blanc Massif in the Graian Alps has three.

[1]