Lake Thun

Lake Thun
Thunersee
View with Thun from the Niederhorn
Location Canton of Berne
Lake type oligotrophic, mesotrophic
Primary inflows Aar
Kander
Primary outflows Aar
Catchment area 2,500 km虏
Basin countries Switzerland
Max. length 17.5 km (10.9 mi)
Max. width 3.5 km
Surface area 48.3 km虏
Average depth 136 m (446 ft)
Max. depth 217 m (712 ft)
Water volume 6.5 km鲁
Residence time 684 days
Surface elevation 558 m (1,831 ft)
Settlements Thun, Spiez, Faulensee

Lake Thun (German: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. It took its name from the city of Thun, on its northern shore.

Lake Thun's approximately 2,500 km虏 large catchment area frequently causes local flooding after heavy rainfalls. This occurs because the river Aar (German: Aare), which drains Lake Thun, has only limited capacity to handle the excess runoff.

The lake is fed by water from Lake Brienz to the south east, which lies 6 metres higher than Lake Thun, and various streams in the Oberland, including the Kander (only since 1714). Lake Thun was created after the last ice age and was originally part of Lake Brienz. The historic combined lake is called Wendelsee by geologists and historians.

Fishing is important enough to keep a handful of professional fishers employed. In 2001 the total catch was 53,000 kg. Since 1835 passenger ships have operated on the lake. There are ten passenger ships in total, operated by the local railway company BLS L枚tschbergbahn.

Following World 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.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ Foulkes, Imogen (August 28, 2003). "Fears over dumped munitions in Lake Thun". http://www.swissinfo.ch/jpn/index/Fears_over_dumped_munitions_in_Lake_Thun.html?cid=3475844. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
  2. ^ [|Tagliabue, John] (August 12, 2009). "A Turbulent Past Lurks in a Serene Swiss Lake". NYTimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/world/europe/13swiss.html. Retrieved Sep 13, 2009. 

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