Lake Morat

Lake Morat
Lac de Morat
Location Canton of Fribourg/Vaud
Coordinates 46°56′N 7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°E / 46.933; 7.083Coordinates: 46°56′N 7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°E / 46.933; 7.083
Primary inflows Broye
Primary outflows Broye canal
Catchment area 693 km²
Basin countries Switzerland
Max. length 8.2 km
Max. width 2.8 km
Surface area 22.8 km²
Max. depth 45 m
Water volume 0.55 km³
Residence time 1.6 years
Surface elevation 429 m
Islands La Grande Ile (islet)
Settlements Morat

Lake Morat[1] (French: Lac de Morat (official name); German: Murtensee) is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small bilingual town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore.

It is the smallest of the three lakes in the Seeland or Pays des trois lacs area of the Swiss plateau located at the foot of the first chain of the Jura mountains. The main tributary is the river Broye.

Since the Jura water correction its water leaves the lake through the Broye Canal (Canal de la Broye) into nearby Lake Neuchâtel that is connected to Lake Bienne through the canal de la Thielle. Thus all three lakes form a natural reservoir in order to retain overflow water from the river Aar that flows into Lake Bienne: in times of combined heavy rainfalls and glacier melting in the Alps, the peculiar situation arises that the water flows backwards through the Thielle and Broye canals, preventing an overflow of the Grand Marais.

Notes

  1. Office fédéral de la topographie.

External links

Media related to Lake Morat at Wikimedia Commons

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