Arbaz

History

Arbaz is first mentioned about 1185 as Alba. In 1338 it was mentioned as Arba.

Geography

Arbaz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 22.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 25.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 5.1% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 47.4% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 19.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.9% is used for growing crops and 5.3% is pastures and 15.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 17.2% is unproductive vegetation and 30.3% is too rocky for vegetation. The municipality is located in the Sion district, at an elevation of between . Until 1877 it was part of the municipality of Ayent. The village of Arbaz was partially destroyed by fire in 1924, but has been rebuilt. Almost half of the houses in the village are vacation homes. It is situated on the north bank of the Rhône River.

Most-observed species

• Cross Gentian

  Gentiana cruciata L. · Magnoliopsida
  17,352
• False-acacia

  Robinia pseudoacacia L. · Magnoliopsida
  5,656
• Warty Cabbage

  Bunias orientalis L. · Magnoliopsida
  3,126
• Canadian Goldenrod

  Solidago canadensis L. · Magnoliopsida
  3,114
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  3,106
• red deer

  Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  3,092
• Small Tortoiseshell

  Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,680
• Common Blue

  Polyommatus icarus (von Rottemburg, 1775) · Insecta
  2,546

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2026-01-12
  4 km SSW of Les Houches, France
• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-09
  9 km SW of Evolène, Switzerland
• M 3.3 — 2022-09-25
  7 km ESE of Ar?ches-la-Frasse, France
• M 2.7 — 2022-08-23
  4 km S of Turtmann, Switzerland
• M 4.1 — 2021-10-05
  10 km SSW of Evolène, Switzerland