Editing Saastal

{{Short description|Alpine valley in Switzerland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2025}}
[[Image:Saas-Grund.jpg|thumb|Saastal with Saas-Fee and Saas-Grund]]

The '''Saastal''' or the '''Saas Valley''' is an [[Swiss Alps|alpine]] valley in the [[Visp (district)|district of Visp]], in the eastern part of the [[Canton of Valais]], [[Switzerland]]. It is the valley of the river [[Saaser Vispa]]. It is separated from the [[Mattertal]] to the west by the [[Dom (mountain)|Mischabel]] massif. Villages in the valley are, upstream, [[Eisten]], [[Saas-Balen]], [[Saas-Grund]], [[Saas-Fee]] and [[Saas-Almagell]]. Until 1893, the municipalities of Almagell, Balen, Fee and Grund were a single parish, with the only church in Grund. [[Mattmarksee]] is a [[reservoir]] built in the 1960s.

The region hosts an extensive winter sports region, comprising the separate ski areas of [[Saas-Fee]], [[Saas-Grund]] and [[Saas-Almagell]]. As well as individual ski passes a combined pass is available; each of these areas is connected to the other parts of the region by postal bus, rather than dedicated skilifts.

==Geography==

The Saastal (Saas Valley) is an alpine valley in the district of Visp, in the eastern part of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. It forms the [[catchment]] of the [[Saaser Vispa]], which flows northwards to join the [[Rhône]] at Visp. The valley is flanked to the west by the Mischabel massif, whose highest summit, the Dom (4,545&nbsp;m), is the tallest peak entirely within Swiss territory. Villages in the Saastal, from uppermost to lowermost, are [[Eisten]], [[Saas-Balen]], [[Saas-Grund]], [[Saas-Fee]] and [[Saas-Almagell]].<ref name="Waeber 2012"/>

==History==

Until 1893, the four modern municipalities of Almagell, Balen, Fee and Grund formed a single ecclesiastical [[parish]], with the sole church located in Saas-Grund. Administrative separation into the current four [[Municipalities of Switzerland|communes]] only took place when each built its own local church and civil administration.<ref name="Waeber 2012"/>

==Infrastructure==

In the early 1960s, the [[Mattmarksee]] reservoir was constructed high in the valley to serve [[hydroelectric]] schemes and regulate seasonal [[Runoff (hydrology)|runoff]]. The dam, completed in 1965, impounds meltwater from the [[Fee Glacier]] and supplements winter sports infrastructure by ensuring reliable water supply for [[snowmaking]].<ref name="Waeber 2012"/>

On 30 August 1965 an approximately 2 million-cubic metre ice avalanche broke from the [[Allalin Glacier]] and engulfed the Mattmark dam construction site at the head of the Saastal, killing 88 workers. The accident, the worst alpine construction disaster in Swiss history, delayed completion of the hydro-electric project and led to tighter national safety standards for working beneath hanging glaciers.<ref name="Fenazzi 2015"/>

==Tourism and economy==

Since the mid-20th century, the Saastal has developed into a major [[winter sports]] destination. Three separate ski areas—Saas-Fee, Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell—offer over 150&nbsp;km of [[piste]]s, all linked by postal bus rather than inter-resort lifts. A single combined ski pass provides access to all three, while summer [[tourism]] focuses on [[glacier]] excursions, high-alpine [[hiking]] and [[mountaineering]].<ref name="Waeber 2012"/>

The Saastal's landscape is dominated by almost twenty glaciers, but they are shrinking rapidly. Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS) reported that the country lost about 10&nbsp;% of its total ice volume during the hot summers of 2022 and 2023 alone, the steepest two-year decline on record. Southern Valais glaciers, including the Fee and Allalin ice bodies above Saas-Fee, recorded some of the greatest thickness losses, and several small [[cirque]] glaciers vanished entirely.<ref name="Mantovani & Balibouse 2023" />

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=


<ref name="Fenazzi 2015">{{cite web |last=Fenazzi |first=Sonia |date=28 August 2015 |title=The Mattmark disaster: a dramatic page in Swiss history |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/the-mattmark-disaster-a-dramatic-page-in-swiss-history/41627972 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref>



<ref name="Mantovani & Balibouse 2023">{{cite news |last1=Mantovani |first1=Cecile |last2=Balibouse |first2=Denis |date=28 September 2023 |title=Swiss glaciers lose 10% of volume in worst two years on record |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-glaciers-lose-10-volume-worst-two-years-record-2023-09-28/ |work=Reuters |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref>

<ref name="Waeber 2012">{{cite journal |last=Waeber |first=Aurel |year=2012 |title=Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Bewertungspraxis in Gemeindearchiven – Eine Fallstudie aus dem Saastal (VS) |trans-title=Possibilities and limits of appraisal practices in municipal archives: a case study from the Saas Valley (VS) |journal=Informationswissenschaft: Theorie, Methode und Praxis |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=345–362 |doi=10.18755/iw.2012.21 |language=de}}</ref>

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[[Category:Valleys of Switzerland|Saas]]
[[Category:Landforms of Valais]]
[[Category:Valleys of the Alps]]