(here near
Lavertezzo) is the most central valley of Ticino Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. With a few exceptions in the extreme north and south of the canton, it lies entirely in the
Ticino basin, a tributary of the
Po. Along with
Valais and the
Grisons, it is one of the three cantons whose territory extends into the Po basin (lands to the south of the
Alps). However, unlike the other Po basin cantons (and all other cantons), all settlements of Ticino are on the south side of the Alps, therefore separated from the
Swiss Plateau (and most of the country) by the great Alpine barrier. The canton also comprehends some small areas in the
Rhine basin in the north, at the
Gotthard Pass and around
lake of Santa Maria. The extreme south of the canton is drained by the Po as well, but through the
Breggia,
Adda, Gaggiolo,
Olona, and
Lambro. The canton is traditionally (but not administratively) split into two regions. The northern region, the
Sopraceneri, is formed by the valleys around
Lake Maggiore and includes the highest mountains of the canton and the main
Alpine watershed. The southern region, the
Sottoceneri, is the region around
Lake Lugano, and marks the beginning of the southern Alpine foothills. Between the two regions is
Monte Ceneri, a moderately elevated mountain pass and important north–south axis. The Sottoceneri is constituted by the districts of
Lugano and
Mendrisio, and makes up about 15% of the territory and 57% of the population. While
Lugano, the largest city, is in the densely populated Sottoceneri, the two other main cities,
Bellinzona and
Locarno, are in the Sopraceneri. The Ticino, which gives its name to the canton, is the largest river of Ticino. It flows from the northwest through the
Bedretto Valley and the
Leventina Valley to enter Lake Maggiore near
Locarno. Its main tributaries are the
Brenno in the
Blenio Valley and the
Moesa in the
Mesolcina Valley in the
Grisons. The lands of most of the canton are shaped by the river, which in its mid portion forms a wide valley, commonly known as the
Riviera. The western lands of the canton, however, are drained by the
Maggia. The
Verzasca Valley is between the Leventina Valley and the Maggia Valley. There is also a smaller area that drains directly into the
Lake Lugano. Most of the land is considered within the Alps, but a small area is part of the plain of the Po which drains the north of
Italy. Although it includes the lowest point of Switzerland (Lake Maggiore) as well as its lowest town (
Ascona), the topography of Ticino is extremely rugged, as it is the canton with the
fourth largest elevation difference. It lies essentially within the Alps, in particular the
Lepontine Alps, the
Saint-Gotthard Massif and the
Lugano Prealps. The longest and deepest valleys are those of the Ticino, Verzasca and Maggia. The two highest mountains are the
Rheinwaldhorn and the
Basòdino. Other notable mountains are
Pizzo Rotondo (highest of the Gotthard Massif),
Pizzo Campo Tencia (highest fully within the canton),
Monte Generoso (highest south of Lake Lugano) and
Monte Tamaro (most prominent of the canton). For an exhaustive list, see
list of mountains of Ticino. The area of the canton is , of which about three-quarters are considered productive to trees or crops. Forests cover about a third of the area, but also the lakes
Maggiore (or
Verbano) and
Lugano (or
Ceresio) make up a considerable minority. The canton shares borders with three other cantons across the main ridge of the Alps:
Valais to the northwest, to which it is connected by the
Nufenen Pass,
Uri to the north, to which it is connected by the
Gotthard Pass and the
Grisons to the northeast, to which it is connected by the
Lukmanier Pass and the
Mesolcina Valley; the latter valley, a few kilometres north of Bellinzona, being the only (natural) low elevation access to another canton. Ticino shares international borders with
Italy as well. To the southwest is the region of
Piedmont and to the southeast is the region of
Lombardy. The main border crossing between Italy and Switzerland is that of
Chiasso, in the extreme south of the canton. As a consequence, the plains experience warm and moist summers, and mild winters. This climate is noticeably warmer and wetter than
the rest of Switzerland's. In German-speaking Switzerland, Ticino is nicknamed
Sonnenstube (sun porch), owing to the more than 2,300
sunshine hours the canton receives every year, compared to 1,700 for Zurich. The canton can experience particularly heavy storms and rainfalls in summer. It is the region of Switzerland with the highest level of lightning discharge. Conversely, the canton can experience severe droughts in both summer and winter, making it the region most affected by forest fires in the country. The climate of Ticino is highly diverse as elevations range from Lake Maggiore, affected by
subtropical climate, to the high Alps, affected by
subarctic and tundra climate. Therefore, similarly to the rest of Switzerland, many different types of ecosystems are found in the region. In the lower areas, deciduous forests are omnipresent, while at high elevations they tend to be replaced by coniferous forests, except in the Sottoceneri (
Lugano Prealps), where they are almost absent. The treeline is located at around 2,000 metres in the Sopraceneri and 1,600 metres in the Sottoceneri. The
Basòdino, Ticino's second-highest mountain, is covered by the
largest glacier of the canton. In winter, skiing is popular in the highest locations, notably in
Airolo and
Bosco/Gurin. In the lower regions, especially around Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano, vineyards, olive trees and other fruits common to southern Europe are grown. Several types of cold hardy
palm trees and other subtropical species may be grown here, and although none are native, their presence in the ecosystem is increasing. Numerous gardens, especially near the lakes, such as the
Brissago Islands and the
Scherrer Park, are renowned for their exotic plants.
Diocese The
Diocese of Lugano is co-extensive to the canton.
Wine region Ticino is one of the wine regions for
Swiss wine. The defined region encompasses all of the canton plus the neighbouring Italian-speaking
district of Moesa (
Misox and
Calanca valleys) in the
canton of the Grisons. ==Government==