Ayent

Ayent is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

History

The Ayent area is first mentioned in 1052 as Agent. In 1250 it was mentioned as Argenta.

Geography

Ayent has an area, as of 2009, of 55.1 square kilometers (21.3 sq mi). Of this area, 10.42 km² (4.02 sq mi) or 18.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.35 km² (5.15 sq mi) or 24.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.55 km² (0.98 sq mi) or 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.75 km² (0.29 sq mi) or 1.4% is either rivers or lakes and 27.97 km² (10.80 sq mi) or 50.7% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 20.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.5% is used for growing crops and 5.2% is pastures, while 3.2% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 1.1% is in lakes and 0.2% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 8.2% is unproductive vegetation, 39.6% is too rocky for vegetation and 3.0% of the land is covered by glaciers.