Valais

Valais, canton on the southwestern border of Switzerland, with an area of 5,225 sq km (2,017 sq mi). Valais includes the greater part of the drainage system of the Rhône River east of Lake Geneva. Valais is bordered on the east and south by Italy, on the west by France, on the northwest by Lake Geneva, on the north by the cantons of Vaud and Bern, and on the northeast by the cantons of Uri and Ticino. The highest point in Valais is in the Pennine Alps; the Dufourspitze, one of the ten summits of Monte Rosa, has an elevation of 4,634 m (15,203 ft) and is the highest peak in Switzerland.

The population is concentrated in the Rhône Valley, where the climate fosters the cultivation of grapes and other fruits. Many towns are located in the Rhône Valley; the most important are Sion, the capital, as well as Martigny, Sierre, and Brig. The Bernese and the Pennine Alps attract many tourists to Valais. Outstanding resorts include Saas Fee, Champéry, Montana, Champex, and Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn. The Great Saint Bernard Pass, on the southern border, is famous for the hospice of Great Saint Bernard. The Simplon Pass, near Brig, connects Switzerland and Italy. The inhabitants of the western part of the canton speak French; those of the eastern part, German. The chief railway line runs from the town of Saint-Gingolph, France, to Brig.

Originally inhabited by Celtic tribes, the region was conquered by the Romans in 57 bc. The invasion of the Burgundians, a Germanic tribe, in the 5th century ad led to the incorporation of Valais into the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy. In 1416 the canton allied itself with the Swiss Confederation. Valais became one of the cantons of the Helvetic Republic in 1798, when the region was unified by Napoleon Bonaparte, the future emperor of France. From 1810 to 1813 Valais was part of France as the department of the Simplon. Freed by Austria, the canton joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815. Population 287,976 (2004 estimate).