VIRTUAL FIELDWORK

Roseg Valley

Graubünden, Switzerland
Roseg valley virtual field trip

Overview

The Roseg Valley (Val Roseg) is located in SE Switzerland in the canton of Graubünden (French name: Grisons). It is ~11 km long, with a SSW–NNE axis. The elevation of the valley floor ranges from 1800 m in the north to ~2250 m at the southern end of the lake (Lej da Vadret). Most of the peaks on either side of the valley are in excess of 3000 m, with the highest being Piz Bernina (4049 m). The latter gives its name to the Bernina Range; the Roseg Valley sites on the northern edge of this.

The field trip starts halfway up the valley at the bridge, near the hotel and restaurant, at ~2000 m. There are two routes. One follows the western side of the valley as far as the northern end of Lej da Vadret. The other follows the path on the eastern side, and gets close to the terminus of the Tschirva glacier (Vadret da Tschierva).

The imagery for this virtual field trip was acquired in June 2008, which means it is now rather dated. There is clearly scope for an additional, updated virtual field trip, which would the identification of changes in the landscape over time. This is a project for when time and finances allow.

The field trip was initially made available to students at Worcester from 2010 to help them prepare for residential fieldwork to the Alps. In 2019, the original imagery was re-processed, and the virtual field trip was re-built to comply with modern internet standards.

Start of Virtual Field Trip

Roseg Valley Virtual Field Trip

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Google Earth file (.kml)

Download this file if you want to view the virtual field trip stops within Google Earth. KML files can also be used in other applications and web services, including SwissTopo.

Spreadsheet (.csv)

Download this file if you want to view the virtual field trip stops within GIS software, such as ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, QGis etc. Can also be used in Google Earth.

SwissTopo website

Access to current and historic mapping, as well as other data, from the Swiss national mapping service. TIP: You can drag KML files onto the map

Swiss Glacier Monitoring website

Length variation measurements for the Bas Arolla glacier.
Picture of Dr Des McDougall (BSc, PhD, SFHEA)

Dr Des McDougall (BSc, PhD, SFHEA)

I'm a Physical Geographer at the University of Worcester (England, UK). Interests include mountain glaciers, mountain geomorphology and Quaternary environmental change. I'm also interested in the use of virtual reality in teaching.

Can you help?

In order to support the ongoing development of this site, it would be really helpful if you could let me know why and how you use the resource. I’d also appreciate hearing any ideas you may have for improvements. Thank you!