Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Gimmelwald is a beautiful little mountain town nestled 4,500 feet above sea level in the Bernese Oberland part of the Swiss Alps. The views from Gimmelwald are breath taking. This tiny town can only be reached by hiking or by gondola. Gimmelwald's population (or lack thereof) is 130 people, and not one of them owns a car. Farming is the primary occupation, and Gimmelwald is well known for its delicious cheese.

Vegetation:

The vegetation is alpine and sub-alpine, with lots of wildflowers blooming in the summer months.

Climate:
Because Gimmelwald is such a small town, there is no direct climate graph for it. However, Gimmelwald is very close to Bern, Switzerland and shares the same climate characteristics. Here is the climate table for Bern. As you can see, Gimmelwald is very cold in the winter months, getting plenty of snow that allow its nearby ski resorts to stay open from November until April. The summers are mild and the area has low humidity year-round.

Natural Disaster:

There are no real natural disasters that occur in Gimmelwald. Members of the community got the area to be falsely declared as an avalanche zone, but this was to stop the urbanization of the town, not because it actually is one. Other than the very small chance of avalanche, there are no real natural disasters in Gimmelwald.

Here is a topographic map of the area.

The article "Fluctuations of Climate and Glaciers in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, and their Geoecological Significance," by Bruno and Paul Messerli discusses how scientists can look at the change of area and volume of ice in the Bernese Oberland and draw conclusions about the area's climate change over a long period of time.