Switzerland

Quick facts

How to spot Switzerland from satellite imagery

Switzerland covers just 41,000 square kilometres in the heart of Europe — about the size of the Netherlands or one and a half Belgium — but contains some of the most dramatic and densely engineered landscapes on the continent. The country is roughly divided into three physiographic regions: the Alps covering the south and centre, the Mittelland (Swiss Plateau) running diagonally from Geneva in the southwest to Lake Constance in the northeast, and the Jura along the French border in the northwest. Each region has a distinctive aerial signature.

For geography games, Switzerland is one of the easier European countries to identify once you know the cues. The Alps, the lakes, and the specific Swiss agricultural patterns combine into a national fingerprint that locks in fast from any reasonably zoomed satellite frame. This guide walks through the cues.