| Lake Morat | |
|---|---|
| Lake Murten Lac de Morat (French) Murtensee (German) | |
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  Lake Morat  Lake Morat  Lake Morat | |
| Location | Cantons of Fribourg andVaud |
| Coordinates | 46°56′N7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°E /46.933; 7.083 |
| Primary inflows | Broye |
| Primary outflows | Broye canal |
| Catchment area | 693 km2 (268 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Switzerland |
| Max. length | 8.2 km (5.1 mi) |
| Max. width | 2.8 km (1.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 22.8 km2 (8.8 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 45 m (148 ft) |
| Water volume | 0.55 km3 (450,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Residence time | 1.6 years |
| Surface elevation | 429 m (1,407 ft) |
| Islands | La Grande Ile (islet) |
| Settlements | Morat / Murten |
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Lake Morat or more rarelyLake Murten (French:Lac de Morat[lakdəmɔʁa]) is alake located in the cantons ofFribourg andVaud in the west ofSwitzerland. It is named after the small bilingual town ofMurten/Morat on its southern shore.
It is the smallest of the three lakes in theSeeland or Pays des trois lacs area of theSwiss plateau located at the foot of the first chain of theJura mountains. The main tributary is the riverBroye.
Since theJura water correction its water leaves the lake through theBroye Canal (Canal de la Broye) into nearbyLake Neuchâtel that is connected toLake Bienne/Lake Biel through theThielle canal. Thus all three lakes form a naturalreservoir in order to retain overflow water from the riverAare that flows into Lake Bienne/Biel: in times of combined heavy rainfalls andglaciermelting in theAlps, the peculiar situation arises that the water flows backwards through the Thielle and Broye canals, preventing an overflow of theGrand Marais.
Media related toLake Murten at Wikimedia CommonsLakes of Switzerland | ||
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