It was formed on 1 January 2009 when the three municipalities Ulrichen, Obergesteln and Oberwald merged.

The First Battle of Ulrichen in 1211 was a decisive defeat of Bernese troops under Duke Berthold V of Zähringen by the army of the Canton of Valais under the Bishop of Sion Landrich von Mont.

[6] The Second Battle of Ulrichen in 1419 was between the Old Swiss Confederacy led by Bern and Valais.

It is surrounded on all but its downstream boundary by high mountains, and forms the junction of routes over the Grimsel, Furka, Nufenen and the Gries Passes, as well as the lower level route down the Rhone valley towards Brig.

[7] The lowest settlement of Obergoms is Ulrichen, which lies in the Rhone valley at the foot of the Nufenen and Gries Passes.

The route to both passes initially passes through the side valley of the Agene, and the municipality includes that valley, its surrounding slopes, the Griessee lake at its head, and the Gries glacier that feeds it.

Obergesteln is overlooked by the mountains of the Sidelhorn, to the north, and the Pizzo Gallina, to the south.

From Gletsch, the Grimsel Pass climbs to the north, over the border into the canton of Bern.

Belvedere overlooks the Rhone glacier, whilst the Furka Pass climbs on to the border with the canton of Uri.

[7] Obergoms has an area, as of 2011[update], of 155.8 square kilometers (60.2 sq mi).

[8] Most of the population, in Obergesteln as of 2000[update], speaks German (183 or 93.8%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (8 or 4.1%) and Tschechisch is the third (2 or 1.0%).

[13] Most of the population, in Oberwald as of 2000[update], speaks German (249 or 95.8%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (6 or 2.3%) and Italian is the third (2 or 0.8%).

[13] Most of the population, in Ulrichen as of 2000[update], speaks German (213 or 96.4%) as their first language, Italian is the second most common (3 or 1.4%) and Portuguese is the third (3 or 1.4%).

[13] The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][5][6][14] The entire villages of Obergesteln and Ulrichen, the Gletsch region and the Furkabahn Cog-Wheel Railway are all designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[15] In the 2007 federal election in Obergesteln, the most popular party was the CVP which received 71.92% of the vote.

[8] There were 97 residents of Obergesteln who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.2% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 2 or 4.9% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 30 or 73.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 1 was in education.

[8] There were 138 residents of Oberwald who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.1% of the workforce.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 18, of which 11 were in agriculture and 6 were in forestry or lumber production.

In the tertiary sector; 12 or 11.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 23 or 21.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 62 or 57.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 2 or 1.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 1 was in education.

[18] There were 107 residents of Ulrichen who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.2% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 10 or 17.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 9 or 15.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 33 or 56.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 3.4% were in education.

This line provides year-round service between Visp, Brig, Andermatt and Göschenen, with trains running hourly in both directions and stopping at all three stations.

Additionally Oberwald station is served several times a day by the Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St Moritz or Davos.

From Oberwald station, the Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke operates summer steam locomotive hauled services over the old MGB line across the Furka pass, a line which has now been largely superseded by the Furka Base Tunnel.

[19][20] The low level road route down the Rhone valley to Brig is open all year, but the roads from Obergoms across the Furka, Grimsel and Nufenen passes are open only in summer.

The education system in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten.

All the lower and upper secondary students from Obergoms attend their school in a neighboring municipality.

[18] From the 2000 census[update], in Obergesteln, 171 or 87.7% were Roman Catholic, while 3 or 1.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

[12] In Ulrichen, 210 or 95.0% were Roman Catholic, while 7 or 3.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.