The steepest municipalities in canton Uri
National ranking →Gurtnellen is the steepest municipality in canton Uri: its terrain averages 35.5° of slope. Next come Erstfeld (33.6°) and Wassen (33.3°). This is the mean gradient across the whole municipal area, measured on a 40 m elevation grid — a figure for ordering, not an absolute gradient. Source: swisstopo swissALTIRegio 2026.
Ranking
swisstopo · swissALTIRegio 2026| Rank | Municipality | Mean slope | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gurtnellen | 35.5° | 501 |
| 2 | Erstfeld | 33.6° | 3'985 |
| 3 | Wassen | 33.3° | 425 |
| 4 | Göschenen | 32.8° | 482 |
| 5 | Isenthal | 32° | 461 |
| 6 | Silenen | 31.7° | 2'080 |
| 7 | Attinghausen | 31.6° | 1'781 |
| 8 | Unterschächen | 29.4° | 737 |
| 9 | Spiringen | 28.8° | 872 |
| 10 | Hospental | 28.3° | 176 |
| 11 | Andermatt | 26.9° | 1'603 |
| 12 | Seedorf | 26.5° | 2'054 |
| 13 | Realp | 26.3° | 157 |
| 14 | Bürglen | 26° | 3'923 |
| 15 | Sisikon | 25.5° | 399 |
| 16 | Flüelen | 23.7° | 2'048 |
| 17 | Schattdorf | 22.7° | 5'555 |
| 18 | Seelisberg | 20.3° | 724 |
| 19 | Altdorf | 17.7° | 10'618 |
How we measure this
swisstopoThe mean slope of the terrain in degrees, averaged over the whole municipal area from the swisstopo swissALTIRegio digital elevation model at 40 m resolution (swissALTIRegio 2026). Two caveats matter. First, it describes the entire territory, not the inhabited settlement — a municipality can be steep overall while its village sits on flat ground. Second, slope depends on the grid it is measured at: at 40 m the figures run a few percent gentler than a 10 m grid, so use them to order municipalities, not as an absolute gradient. Steep terrain and large vertical range tend to coincide; see the greatest-vertical-range ranking.
Frequently asked questions
- Which municipality in canton Uri has the steepest terrain?
- Gurtnellen, whose terrain averages 35.5° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2026) — the steepest of any municipality in canton Uri, measured on the swisstopo 40 m elevation grid.
- Why is the slope measured at 40 m?
- Slope depends on the resolution of the elevation grid it is computed from. These figures use the swisstopo 40 m grid, which is stable and comparable across all municipalities; a finer 10 m grid would read a few percent steeper. The ranking order is reliable, but the degree value is not an absolute gradient.