in the New World. Many of the resulting emigrants went to the state of Wisconsin, where they founded the town of New Glarus. On May 6, 2007 Glarus became the first Swiss canton to lower the voting age to 16. Geography The canton of Glarus is dominated by the deep valley of the Linth River and the smaller Sernftal on the east. Most of the area is mountainous. The highest peak in the Glarus Alps is the Tödi at Other mountains include the Hausstock () and the Glärnisch (). The canton contains part of a thrust fault that was declared a geologic UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the name Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, in 2008. Famous outcrops in the Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona include those at Lochsite near Glarus and in a mountain cliff called Tschingelhörner between Elm and Flims (in the same cliff is a natural hole called the Martinsloch). There is also a large lake called Walensee (Lake Walen) on the north. The total area of the canton of Glarus is , of which about half is considered productive. Forestry is an important branch of industry in the canton. Municipalities The Landsgemeinde (cantonal assembly) of 2006 decided that the 25 municipalities of Glarus be consolidated to three, effective 1 January 2011. The new municipality of Glarus subsumed the former municipalities of Glarus, Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern. Glarus Nord subsumed Bilten, Filzbach, Mollis, Mühlehorn, Näfels, Niederurnen, Oberurnen and Obstalden. Glarus Süd subsumed Betschwanden, Braunwald, Elm, Engi, Haslen (including Leuggelbach and Nidfurn), Linthal, Luchsingen (including Diesbach and Hätzingen), Matt, Mitlödi, Rüti, Schwanden, Schwändi and Sool. Demographics The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 7,314 foreigners (or 19.13% of the total population). The population () is nearly evenly split between Protestants (44%) and Roman Catholics (37%). 83.6% is German-speaking and 6.8% is Italian-speaking. Historical population The historical population is given in the following table: Economy The geography of the canton helped to establish slate works in the 17th century. The mountainous surroundings of Glarus were also an advantage in industrialisation. Cotton spinning was important in the 18th century, complementing traditional woolen spinning. Industrialisation also brought cotton printing, hydroelectric plants and later metal and machinery factories, as well as paper mills. In 2014, about 5% of the workers in Glarus work in the primary sector (the total for all of Switzerland is 3.3%) Of these