page_title: Evolène
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Evolène / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Dent Blanche (4350m) above the Val d'Hérens, Valais
context_page_description: Evolène is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
  It includes the villages of Lannaz, Les Haudères, La Sage/Villa, La Forclaz, Arolla and Ferpècle.
context_section_description: Evolène has an area, as of 2011, of 210 square kilometers (81 sq mi).  Of this area, 17.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.0% is forested.  Of the rest of the land, 0.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and 69.3% is unproductive land.
  The municipality is located in the Hérens district and was part of Hérens until 1882.
  It is located south of Sion in the Pennine Alps. It is one of the last strongholds of the Franco-Provençal language, being the only village in Switzerland where all generations speak it.
  The commune of Evolène is situated in the Val d'Hérens. Evolène is one of the largest municipalities in Switzerland despite having no more than 1,600 inhabitants. This is due to the broken nature of its surrounding alpine terrain, which includes the highest point in the commune, la Dent Blanche (white tooth) at 4,357 m (14,295 ft). Due to its mountain terrain Evolène is subjected to a number of natural dangers such as avalanches and aggressive erosion of its main river due to the recession of three surrounding glaciers.
  The commune is made up of several close-lying villages. The main village is Evolène, fortunately situated on a plateau above the river (to avoid flooding of the river), as well as being protected from avalanches by a surrounding forest. Thanks to its favourable position, Evolène was quickly established as the safest village to expand and therefore has become the biggest village in the commune.
  Other villages that make up the Evolène commune, such as Arolla, les Haudères, La Sage, La Forclaz and Villaz do not benefit from the same level of natural protection as Evolène and are therefore exposed to more risks and have thus become less desirable to develop. The small village of les Haudères is closely situated to Evolène, at the very extremity of Val d'Hérens. The even smaller villages of Villaz and La Sage are found about 300 meters (980 ft) up from Evolène. Orientated towards the South, Villaz and La Sage benefit from generous sunlight hours. They are also situated near large Swiss mountain meadows which extend up to an altitude of 2,700 meters (8,900 ft). 
  The villages of Evolène and Les Haudères and the hamlet of Lana are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
caption: Val d'Hérens
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