The Upper Valley is narrow, closed and sparsely inhabited; it is characterised at high altitude by the presence of mountain pastures and shelters and, along the Cervo stream, by a number of towns of considerable historical and cultural value such as Rosazza, Piedicavallo and Campiglia Cervo. The Lower Valley, situated between the two ridges that separate it from the Oropa and the Strona Vallies, is more open than the Upper Valley and is home to most of the residential and productive settlements. The landscape is mainly woodland, surrounding the small towns, with the presence of some cultivated areas in the valley floor.