The Swiss National Park is a natural reserve that is fully protected from man's influence and intervention. Since the day it was founded, there has been no more hunting or fishing, nor any kind of exploitation going on here, and the fields and forests remain untended. The entire fauna and flora has been left to develop in the wild, bar all intrusion into the course of nature.
Nature at the National Park is rich and varied - that of Switzerland's sub-alpine and alpine belts. The National Park is not a special collection of plants or animals, but rather a rough, natural habitat in the Alps. It is therefore not to be confused with an alpine garden or a zoo.
The terrain is mountainous (1,500-3,174 meters above sea level). Its highest peaks are Piz Pisoc at 3,174 meters and Piz Quattervals at 3,154 m.a.s.l. In simple terms, the National Park consists of around a third each of former pastures and alpine grasslands, forest, and non-arable wasteland with scree and firn snow - inhabited up to the summits. The grasslands abound with different grasses, herbs and flowers.
Over 650 species of higher plants (flowering plants) have been catalogued at the Park, among which a whole colorful array of beautiful alpine flora. The Park is home to over 5,000 different animals. This includes all the spineless species such as spiders, worms, snails, and all insects that make up around 95% of animal life here.
www.nationalpark.ch
