Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva - or Lake Léman, (French Lac Léman, le Léman, or Lac de Genève, German Genfer See) is the second largest freshwater lake in Central Europe (after Lake Balaton). 60% of it is under the jurisdiction of Switzerland (cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Valais), and 40% under France (Haute-Savoie).

It is a glacial lake, formed by a withdrawing glacier. It is crescent-shaped, measuring 73 km (45 mi) in length. At its widest it is 14 km (8.7 mi) and its maximum depth is 310 m (170 fathoms). It lies approximately at . It covers approximately 582 km² (225 mi²) of total area. The volume of water is estimated at 88.9 km³ (72.1 million acre feet) with a catchment area of 7,975 km² (3,079 mi²). The crescent shape is narrowed around Yvoire on the southern shore, the lake can thus be divided into the "Grand Lac" to the east and the "Petit Lac" to the west.

It lies on the course of the Rhône River. The river has its source at the Rhone Glacier near the Grimsel Pass to the east of the lake and flows down through the Canton of Valais, entering the lake between Villeneuve and St. Gingolph, before flowing slowly towards its egress at Geneva. Other tributaries are La Drance, L'Aubonne, La Morges, Venoge, and Veveyse.

By the 1960s, the lake had ceased being a transport artery for commercial and construction goods. In the late 1960s pollution made it dangerous to swim at some beaches of the lake and by the 1980s intense environmental pollution (eutrophication) had almost wiped out all the fish. Today, pollution levels have been dramatically cut back and it is perfectly safe to swim in the lake. The main leisure activities are sailing, boating (including water skiing and wakeboarding), rowing, scuba diving and bathing. The shore between Nyon and Lausanne is called La Côte, and between Lausanne and Vevey it is called Lavaux.

Name

The first recorded name of the lake is Lacus Lemannus from Roman times; it became Lacus Lausonius, Lacus Losanetes and then the Lac de Lausanne in the Middle Ages. Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève (also translated into English as Lake Geneva). In the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French. It was formerly called Lac de Genève in Geneva and Lac Léman elsewhere but the customary name in French is now Lac Léman. Certain maps name the lake the Lac d'Ouchy (after the port located on the Lausanne lake shore).

In English, the name Lake Geneva is predominant.

A note on pronunciation (in IPA) —

English: Lake Geneva

French: Lac Léman or Lac de Genève

German: Genfersee or Genfer See

Italian: Lago Lemano, Lago di Ginevra .

Cities and places

List of cities and places on Lake Geneva
Starting from the entry of Rhône River on the east end, with the southern shore to the left.
	Southern shore	Northern shore
Grand Lac	Le Bouveret, Valais St-Gingolph in Valais and Haute-Savoie Bret, Haute-Savoie Locum Meillerie Lugrin Évian-les-Bains Amphion-les-Bains Thonon-les-Bains Anthy-sur-Léman Séchex Sciez Excenevex Yvoire	Villeneuve, Vaud Château Chillion Territet Montreux Clarens La Tour-de-Peilz Vevey Corseaux St-Saphorin Rivaz Cully Lutry Paudex Pully Lausanne with Ouchy and Vidy St-Sulpice Morges Tolochenaz St-Prex Buchillon Allaman Perroy Rolle Bursinel Dully Gland Promenthoux
Petit Lac	Nernier, Haute-Savoie Messery Chens-sur-Léman Tougues, Haute-Savoie Hermance, Geneva Chevrens Anières Corsier Collonge-Bellerive Vésenaz Cologny	Prangins Nyon, Vaud Crans-près-Céligny, Vaud Céligny, Geneva Coppet, Vaud Tannay, Vaud Mies, Vaud Versoix, Geneva Bellevue Genthod Chambésy
Petit Lac	Geneva

See also: List of lakes in Switzerland

External links

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Name

Cities and places

External links