The Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. Although the name suggests they are in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are located in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Lucerne, Fribourg and Vaud. The latter being informally named Fribourg Alps and Vaud Alps respectively.
The Rhône valley separates them from the Chablais Alps in the west and from the Pennine Alps in the south; the upper Rhône valley separate them from the Lepontine Alps in the south-east; the Grimsel Pass and the Aar valley separates them from the Urner Alps in the east; their northern edge is not so well defined, describing a line roughly from Lake Geneva to Lake Lucerne.
The Bernese Alps are drained by the river Aar and its tributary Saane in the north, the Rhône in the south and the Reuss in the east.