Saint-Gotthard Massif

For the larger, underlying geological structure, see Gotthard nappe.

The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif (German: Gotthardmassiv or Sankt-Gotthard-Massiv; Italian: Massiccio del San Gottardo; Romansh: Massiv dal Gottard) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and Graubünden. It is delimited by the Nufenen Pass on the west, by the Furka Pass and the Oberalp Pass on the north and by the Lukmanier Pass on the east. The eponymous Gotthard Pass, lying at the heart of the massif, is the main route from north to south (excluding tunnels).

Gotthard Massif
German: Gotthardmassiv
Pizzo Rotondo
Highest point
Peak	Pizzo Rotondo
Elevation	3,192 m (10,472 ft)
Dimensions
Length	30 km (19 mi)
Geography
Country	Switzerland
Cantons	Graubünden, Ticino, Uri and Valais
Parent range	Lepontine Alps
Borders on	Bernese Alps, Uri Alps and Glarus Alps

The region of the Gotthard lies at the heart of the Swiss Alps, often referred to as the "water tower of Europe". Three major rivers take their source in the Gotthard Massif: the Reuss, Rhine and Ticino. A fourth river, the Rhône, takes its source in very close proximity of the massif, just north of the Furka Pass. A trekking itinerary, the Vier-Quellen-Weg ("four springs trail"), crosses the Gotthard Massif.^[1]

Peaks

The highest peaks of the massif are Pizzo Rotondo^[2] (3,192 m) in the southwest, Pizzo Centrale (2,999 m) near the centre and Piz Gannaretsch (3,040 m) in the northeast. There is no peak named Gotthard.

Tunnels

There are three long tunnels traversing the Gotthard Massif:

• Gotthard (Rail) Tunnel, railway culmination tunnel (1882, 15 km)
• Gotthard Road Tunnel, motorway tunnel (1980, 17 km)
• Gotthard Base Tunnel, railway lowest-level tunnel (2016, 57 km)

References

1. Vier-Quellen-Weg, schweizmobil.ch
2. Karl Baedeker, Switzerland and the Adjacent Portions of Italy, Savoy, and Tyrol, 1911, p. 154

46°38′28″N 8°25′06″E