Unterschächen has an area,, of. Of this area, 35.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.8% is settled and the remainder is non-productive. , 5.6% of the total land area was heavily forested, while 2.1% is covered in small trees and shrubbery. Of the agricultural land, 4.3% is used for orchards or vine crops and 31.3% is used for alpine pastures. Of the settled areas, 0.3% is covered with buildings, and 0.5% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.5% is unproductive flowing water, 40.4% is too rocky for vegetation, and 13.2% is other unproductive land.
Demographics
Unterschächen has a population of. , 1.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -6.6%. Most of the population speaks German , with Italian being second most common and Portuguese being third. the gender distribution of the population was 52.2% male and 47.8% female. In the 2007 federal election the FDPparty received 95.1% of the vote. In Unterschächen about 37% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education. Unterschächen has an unemployment rate of 0.22%. , there were 138 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 51 businesses involved in this sector. 7 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 4 businesses in this sector. 66 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 15 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:
year
population
1970
665
1980
652
1990
689
2000
764
2005
746
2007
730
Weather
Unterschächen has an average of 155.5 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Unterschächen receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 14.8 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is July, with an average of 16, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is October with an average of of precipitation over 14.8 days.
