Switzerland has plenty of plains, lakes and rivers but, more than 70 percent of the country is covered by mountains. The Alps in the south cover three-fifths of Switzerland and the Jura mountains in the northwest make up another 10 percent of the landscape. The central plateau, called Mittelland, makes up the last 30 percent of Swiss territory. The plateau is where three-quarters of the total population live and contains all the larger towns and most major cities, including the most highly developed agricultural area.

The Alps help draw some of the twenty million visitors to Switzerland every year. The most famous peak is the Matterhorn, rising 14,692 feet above sea level. This is why almost every roller coaster at amusement parks in Europe is called the Matterhorn! Two of Europe's principle rivers, the Rhine and the Rhône, were created by a glacial drainage and both have their source in these mountains. The Föhn is a special wind, unique to the Alpine climate that occurs mainly in spring and autumn when a depression north of the Alps draws air south of the Alps.

The Swiss have found more than 3000 karst caves in their country, special caves formed by melted glacial water that carved paths and sometimes cut out steep-sided gorges and caves. About a dozen of these caves are safe to explore and the most visited one in Switzerland-the Hölloch cave in the Muotatal Valley-is ninety-three miles long, a half mile of which is open to the public. You travel by boat on these glacial waters, through beautifully carved stone.

The largest underground lake in Europe is the St. Leonard. A legend says that if a girl gazes into the surface of this lake she will see the face of her future husband gazing back at her. Another underground lake you would like to visit is near St. Moritz and is known as the Fairy Grotto. Its tube-like tunnels lead to a 164-foot waterfall inside the caves and a Fairy Fountain where they say that if you dip your hand in, you'll get one wish granted.

Switzerland's five largest cities-Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich-are all becoming increasingly urban, with more and more people moving there from the mountains.