Jet d'Eau

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The Jet d'Eau fountain

The Jet d'Eau, or water-jet, is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland, and is one of the city's most famous landmarks, being featured on the city's official tourism web site and on the official logo for Geneva's hosting of the 2008 UEFA Championships ^[1]. It is also one of the largest fountains in the world^{[citation needed]}. Situated at the point where Lake Geneva empties into the Rhone River, it is visible throughout the city and from the air, even when flying over Geneva at an altitude of 10 km (33,000 ft).^{[citation needed]}

Five-hundred litres (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres (459 feet) by two groups of pumps, operating on 2,400-V electricity with a total power of 1,000 kW.^[2]^[3]^[4]The water leaves the nozzle at a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). When it is in operation, at any given moment there are about 7,000 litres (1849 gallons) of water in the air. Unsuspecting visitors to the fountain may be surprised to find themselves drenched after a slight change in wind direction.

The first Jet d'Eau was installed in 1886 a little bit further downstream from its present location.^[4] It was used as a safety valve for a hydro power generator and could reach a height of about 30 metres (98 feet). In 1891, its aesthetic value was recognised and it was moved to its present location to celebrate the Federal Gymnastics Festival and the 600th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation, on which occasion it was illuminated for the first time. Its maximum height was about 90 metres (295 feet). The present Jet d'Eau was installed in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2003, the fountain has operated during the day all year round, except in case of frost and particularly strong wind^[4]. It also operates in the evening between spring and autumn and is lit by a set of 12 lights totalling 13.5 kW.^{[citation needed]}

The jet operates during the evening in the off-season for visiting heads of State.^{[citation needed]}

1 Images
2 See also
3 Trivia
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Images

View from Cathedrale St. Pierre	Boat cruise on Lake Geneva	Closeup	Jet d'Eau with a rainbow
Aerial view	Jet d'Eau at night	Jet d'Eau illuminated	Jet d'Eau at Blue Night

[edit] See also

King Fahd's Fountain

[edit] Trivia

It would take more than 5,500 years of continuous operation for the Jet d'Eau to pump out the volume of water contained in Lake Geneva.
A slight wind change frequently^{[citation needed]} drenches unsuspecting visitors on the pier leading out to the fountain.
This is the fountain seen in the TV series The Champions
The locals refer to it as the "PissVache" (Cow's pee)