Are you familiar with Heidi, the Ibex, and St. Moritz? If so, you are just catching a fleeting glimpse of Graubünden. The holiday region No 1 in Switzerland comprises 150 valleys, 615 lakes, and 937 mountain summits including the 4,049-metre Piz Bernina. Moreover, the Rhine flows through Graubünden, we host the only national park in Switzerland, and visitors marvel in Flimsden at the largest prehistoric landslide in the world.

The Graubünden canton, the largest in Switzerland with its 7,106 km2, covers one sixth of the Swiss territory. Its rugged landscape is characterized by a combination of mountains and highlands. Such fascinating roller-coaster ride takes its toll on the population count. Indeed, Graubünden is the most sparsely populated canton of Switzerland, being ranked 14 by population among the 26 cantons. As these mention the "Grison Alps", they refer to the mountain ranges by the Rhine and the Inn source areas.

Cornerstone of Switzerland
The Graubünden region is the cornerstone of southeastern Switzerland and has common borders with the canton of Ticino to the southwest, Uri to the west, and Glarus and St. Gallen to the east. Switzerland borders with Liechtenstein and Austria (Tyrol and Vorarlberg provinces) to the north, the Italian Tyrol to the east, and Lombardy to the south.

The geographic location of Graubünden makes it a paradise for winter sports enthusiasts. About 90 percent of the area is above the 1,200-metre marker. Avers, the highest Graubünden town, sits quietly at 1,963 metres and Avers-Juf, the highest year-round inhabited village, at an astounding 2,126 metres. Conversely, the lowest point is San Vittore, at 279 metres. The highest peak is Piz Bernina at 4,049 metres and the average cantonal height is 2,100 metres. Finally, 43 percent of the Graubünden population lives in altitudes above 1,000 meters while the Swiss average is just 3.1 percent.

Forests and pastures wealth
Approximately 40 percent of the canton area corresponds to unproductive vegetation. The broad pastures cover about a quarter of the soil. Slightly more than a quarter (26.7 percent) of the area corresponds to forests. Finally, only 1.8 percent of the area can be used as agricultural land, meadows, orchards, and vineyards.

The scenic mountain landscape is enlivened by numerous creeks, rivers, and lakes. Waterfalls and gorges such as the Rhine and the Via Mala Gorge have created unique landscape sceneries. The Graubünden region drains mainly into the Rhine from the Graubünden headwaters of the Anterior and Posterior Rhine. To the east of the country, the Engadine drains the Inn River, which also originates in Graubünden. Beyond the main Alpine ridge lie the Italian-speaking, southern valleys of Graubünden, which drain into the Po River. These are the Misox with Calancatal, the Bergell and Puschlav. On the easternmost part of the country, the Munster valley drains into the Adige River.

Where three watersheds meet
The three basins of the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea meet near the source of the Inn, near the Lunghin Pass above Maloja, at the Three Watersheds. From there, the waters flow into three seas: To the north the Julia River, which joins the Rhine to reach the North Sea, to the south the Maira River, whose water flows into the Mediterranean via the Po River, and to the east the Inn River, which flows into the Danube to end in the Black Sea.