| Lake Thun Thunersee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aerial view of Lake Thun | |
  Lake Thun Thunersee  Lake Thun Thunersee  Lake Thun Thunersee | |
| Location | Canton of Bern |
| Coordinates | 46°41′N7°43′E / 46.683°N 7.717°E /46.683; 7.717 |
| Type | freshwater fjord, recent regulation[1] |
| Primary inflows | Aare Kander |
| Primary outflows | Aare |
| Catchment area | 2,500 km2 (970 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Switzerland |
| Max. length | 17.5 km (10.9 mi) |
| Max. width | 3.5 km (2.2 mi) |
| Surface area | 48.3 km2 (18.6 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 136 m (446 ft) |
| Max. depth | 217 m (712 ft) |
| Water volume | 6.5 km3 (5,300,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Residence time | 684 days |
| Surface elevation | 558 m (1,831 ft) |
| Settlements | Thun,Spiez,Faulensee |
 | |
Lake Thun (German:Thunersee) is anAlpine lake in theBernese Oberland inSwitzerland named after the city ofThun, on its northern shore. At 48.3 km2 (18.6 sq mi) in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton.
The lake was created after thelast glacial period. After the 10th century, it split fromLake Brienz, before which the two lakes were combined, asWendelsee ("Lake Wendel").[2] The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is theFinsteraarhorn at 4,274 metres (14,022 ft) above sea level.[3]
Lake Thun's approximate 2,500 square kilometres (970 sq mi) catchment area frequently causes local flooding after heavy rainfalls. This occurs because the riverAare (German:Aare), which drains Lake Thun, has only limited capacity to handle the excess runoff. The lake is fed by water fromLake Brienz to the southeast, which is 6 metres (20 ft) higher than Lake Thun, and various streams in the Oberland, including theKander.
In 1835, passenger steamships began operating regularly on the lake. Ten passenger ships, operated by the local railway companyBLS AG likeBlümlisalp, serve the towns ofInterlaken andThun; theInterlaken ship canal andThun ship canal connect the lake toInterlaken West railway station andThun railway station respectively.[4][5]
FollowingWorld War II and up until 1964, the Swiss Government disposed of unused munitions into Lake Thun. The quantity of munitions dumped is reported to be from 3,000 to more than 9,020 tons.[6][7]
Media related toLake Thun at Wikimedia CommonsLakes of Switzerland | ||
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