Oeschinen Lake

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Oeschinen Lake
Oeschinen Lake -
Location Bernese Oberland
Coordinates 46°29′54″N, 07°43′37″ECoordinates: 46°29′54″N, 07°43′37″E
Lake type oligotrophic, holomictic
Primary inflows Berglibach, Heubergbach, Lägerbach, Oeschinenbach
Primary outflows underground
Catchment area 22 km²
Basin countries Switzerland
Max. length 1.6 km
Max. width 1 km
Surface area 1.1147 km²
Average depth 34 m
Max. depth 56 m
Residence time (of lake water) 1.61 years
Surface elevation 1,578 m
Frozen December to May

Oeschinen Lake (German: Oeschinensee) is a lake in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, 4 km east of Kandersteg in the Oeschinen valley. At an elevation of 1,578 m, it has a surface area of 1.1147 km². Its maximum depth is 56 m.

The lake is fed through a series of mountain creeks and drains underground. The water then re-surfaces as the Oeschibach. Part of it is captured for electricity production and as water supply for Kandersteg.

In observations from 1931 to 1965, the elevation of the lake surface varied between 1,566.09 m and 1,581.9 m. The average seasonal variation was 12.2 m (September/April).

The lake is generally frozen during five months, from December to May.

Fish in the lake include arctic char (Seesaibling), lake trout (Kanadische Seeforelle), rainbow trout (Regenbogenforelle). From January to March, ice fishing is popular.

A chair lift from Kandersteg leads to Oeschinen, 20 minutes by foot from the lake.

Since 2007 the lake is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Oeschinensee
Oeschinensee


[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  • Fischerei im Oeschinensee (German) (French)
  • Niklaus, Markus (1967), Geomorphologische und Limnologische Untersuchungen am Oeschinensee, Thun: Ott  (German)

[edit] External links