Vaz/Obervaz - Geography

Geography

No town of the name Vaz/Obervaz actually exists. Commonly, Lain, Muldain and Zorten make up the Obervaz region. Until 1943 Vaz/Obervaz was known as Obervaz.

The area of Vaz/Obervaz extends from Parpan in the north to Alvaschein and Lantsch/Lenz in the south, and from the mountain chain of the Parpaner Rothorn in the east to the expansive alpine meadows of Piz Scalotta, Dani and Stätzerhorn. On the southern slope of Mount Crap la Pala, the land rises steeply up the sharply cut sides of the ravine of the Albula. Accordingly, the elevation differences within the municipality are large: from the lowest point of about 700 meters elevation in the Schin gorge, the highest point, on Mount Parapaner Rothorn, is 2865 meters in elevation. The main towns have an average elevation of 1,200 meters (3,900 ft), while the health resort of Lenzerheide has an elevation of about 1,500 meters (4,900 ft). The municipality has an area, as of 2006, of 42.5 km2 (16.4 sq mi), which makes Vaz/Obervaz one of the biggest municipalities in canton Graubünden. Of this area, 42% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (12.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).