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Lake Geneva
Satellite image
Coordinates	46°26′N 6°33′ECoordinates: 46°26′N 6°33′E
Primary sources	Rhône, Venoge, Dranse, Aubonne
Primary outflows	Rhône
Catchment area	7,975 km² (3,079 mi²)
Basin countries	Switzerland France
Max length	73 km (45 mi)
Max width	14 km (8.7 mi)
Surface area	582 km² (225 mi²)
Average depth	154.4 m
Max depth	310 m
Water volume	89 km³
Residence time (of lake water)	11.4 years
Surface elevation	372 m
Islands	Ile de la Harpe, Ile de Peilz (islets)
Settlements	see list

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

The crescent-shaped lake, formed by a withdrawing glacier, narrows around Yvoire on the southern shore, the lake can thus be divided into the "Grand Lac" (Large Lake) to the east and the "Petit Lac" (Small Lake) to the west.

View from Montreux

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 Dranse, L'Aubonne, La Morges, Venoge, and Veveyse.

By the 1960s, the lake had ceased being a transport artery for commercial and construction materials. In the late 1960s pollution made it dangerous to swim at some beaches of the lake; indeed, tourists taking a ride in the local submarine had near zero visibility (it was eventually sold). 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. Today, the main leisure activities are sailing, wind surfing, boating (including water skiing and wakeboarding), rowing, scuba diving and bathing.

As an interesting historical and scientific footnote, in 1827, Lake Geneva was the site for the first measurement of the speed of sound in (fresh) water. French mathematician Jacques Charles François Sturm and Swiss Physicist Daniel Collodon used two moored boats, separated by a measured distance, as the transmit and receive platforms for the sounds of exploding gunpowder. The loud airborne sound coupled into the lake, establishing a loud underwater sound that could be measured at a distance. The flash of the exploding gunpowder provided the visual starting cue for the timepiece, and the underwater explosion sound striking a bell provided the finish cue.

The shore between Nyon and Lausanne is called La Côte, and between Lausanne and Vevey it is called Lavaux.

J.M.W. Turner: Lake Geneva from Montreux, 1810.

Look up Geneva in
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The first recorded name of the lake is Lacus Lemannus from Roman times; it became Lacus Lausonius, although this name was also used for a town or district on the lake, 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 the IPA) —

English: Lake Geneva /leɪk dʒəˈni:və/

French: Lac Léman [lak leˈmɑ̃] or Lac de Genève [lak dø ʒøˈnɛv]

German: Genfersee or Genfer See [ˈgɛnfəʁˈzeː]

Italian: Lago Lemano, Lago di Ginevra [ˈlago di dʒiˈnɛvra].

• Empress Elisabeth of Austria was fatally stabbed in the heart while waiting for a ferry.
• Mary and Percy Shelley and Lord Byron holidayed by the lake and wrote ghost stories; one of which was the basis for the novel Frankenstein.
• Lenin rent a little "chalet" at the French bank, near Geneva.
• Pop singer Phil Collins also lives overlooking the lake near his children.
• Ashes of the British rock star Freddie Mercury are believed by many to be dispersed into the lake.
• The song Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple was written about when a casino on the shore of Lake Geneva burned down just prior to their recordings there. The fire was caused by someone firing a flare gun inside during a show of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, with Deep Purple inside, watching the show. According to some recounts of the story surrounding the song, all of Deep Purple's equipment was destroyed in the fire as well.

CGN paddle steamer Montreux leaving Évian-les-Bains in July 2002.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Lake Geneva

• International Commission for the Protection of Lake Geneva (CIPEL)
• Lake Geneva in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Les ports du lac Léman (French) guide to the lake's harbours
• CGN Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman
• www.plongee-passion.ch (French) A site with stacks of information for scuba diving
• The official site of the Geneva police of the lake with lots of information
• Waterlevels Lake Geneva at Chillon
• Waterlevels Lake Geneva at Saint-Prex
• Waterlevels Lake Geneva at Geneva