NewsTracker Answers for week of May 15, 2023

Q: Roughly 85 people were evacuated last week after geologists and engineers warned that the mountain looming over Switzerland’s tiny village of Brienz was dangerously close to collapse. Where is Switzerland?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Brienz and its sliding mountain are in which European mountain range that covers much of Switzerland?

A. Alps

B. Balkans

C. Carpathians

D. Pyrenees

A. The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range entirely in Europe. Besides Switzerland, the Alps cover parts of France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.

Q: Which of these Alpine countries does NOT border Switzerland?

A. France

B. Germany

C. Italy

D. Slovenia

D. Slovenia does not border Switzerland, but it is a neighbor of Austria and Italy. German, French, and Italian are official languages of Switzerland, along with one more - Romansh. Like French and Italian, it is a Romance language derived from Latin. But, it also was influence by German, the language spoken by most of the Swiss.

Q: While the Alps and another mountain range, the Jura, cover most of Switzerland’s territory, most Swiss live in a high flat area called a ….

A. Arroyo

B. Plateau

C. Valley

D. Wadi

B. Most of Switzerland’s 8.7 million people live in the Swiss Plateau, the flat highland area between the Alps and Jura. Arroyos and wadis are dry creek beds which temporarily or seasonally fill and flow with water after enough rain. A valley is and elongated low area between hills or mountains, typically containing a stream or river.

Q: Switzerland’s largest cities are located on the Swiss Plateau. Which city is the nation’s largest?

A. Basel

B. Bern

C. Geneva

D. Zurich

D. With a population of 421,878, Zurich is Switzerland’s largest city, followed by Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. Bern is the fifth most populous city and the de facto capital of Switzerland.