Schwyz

canton, Switzerland

Also known as: Suittes

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Schwyz, canton, central Switzerland, traversed by the valleys of the Muota and the Sihl. More than three-quarters of the canton is reckoned as productive (forests covering about 92 square miles [238 square km]), and about 25 square miles (65 square km) are occupied by lakes, chiefly parts of Lakes Zürich and Lucerne, a small area of Lake Zug, and the whole of Lakes Lauerz and Sihl. Its highest point is the Ortstock (8,911 feet [2,716 m]), and two of the loftiest summits of the Rigi massif (the Kulm, 5,899 feet [1,798 m], and the Scheidegg, 5,463 feet [1,665 m]) are ...(100 of 437 words)

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