Lake of Brienz

Lake Brienz Brienzersee
Lake Brienz
Location	Canton of Berne
Coordinates	46°43′N 7°58′E / 46.717°N 7.967°E / 46.717; 7.967Coordinates: 46°43′N 7°58′E / 46.717°N 7.967°E / 46.717; 7.967
Primary  inflows	Aare, Lütschine
Primary  outflows	Aare
Catchment  area	1,127 km²
Basin  countries	Switzerland
Max. length	14 km
Max. width	2.8 km
Surface area	29.8 km²
Average depth	173 m
Max. depth	261 m
Water volume	5.17 km³
Residence time	2.69 years
Surface  elevation	564 m
Islands	Schnäggeninseli (islet)
Settlements	Brienz, Iseltwald, Ringgenberg, Niederried

Lake Brienz (German: Brienzersee) is a lake just north of the Alps, in the Canton of Berne in Switzerland. The lake took its name from the village Brienz on its northern shore. Interlaken and the villages Matten and Unterseen lie to the south west of the lake. The shores are steep, and there is almost no shallow water in the entire lake.

Lake Brienz is the first lake in which river Aar (German: Aare) expands. When it leaves Lake Brienz, it soon joins Lake Thun.

The lake lies in a deep hollow between the village of Brienz on the east and, on the west, Bönigen, close to Interlaken. Its length is about 9 miles, its width 1½ miles, and its maximum depth 856 feet, while its area is 11½ square miles, and the surface is 564 metres (1,850 ft) above the sea-level. On the south shore are the Giessbach Falls and the hamlet of Iseltwald. On the north shore are a few small villages.

The character of the lake is gloomy and sad as compared with its neighbour, that of Thun. Its chief affluent is the Lütschine (flowing from the valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen).

The lake is poor in nutritients, and consequently fishing is not very important. Nevertheless, in 2001 10,000 kg fish were caught. There have been passenger ships on the lake since 1839. The ships are operated by BLS Lötschbergbahn, the local railway company. There are five passenger ships on the lake.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lake Brienz

• Lake Brienz Tourism Portal
• BLS Lakes Thun and Brienz Shipping Company
• Lake Brienz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Ökosystem Brienzersee (German) interdisciplinary study of the ecosystem
• Data on the lakes in the canton of Berne (German)
• Waterlevels at Ringgenberg from the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment

v • d • e Major Lakes of Switzerland Lake Biel (Lac de Bienne, Bielersee) · Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) · Lake Constance (Bodensee) · Lake Geneva (Lac Léman, Lac de Genève) · Lake Hallwil (Hallwilersee) · Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) · Lake Lugano (Lago di Lugano, Ceresio) · Lake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore) · Lake Murten (Lac de Morat, Murtensee) · Lake Neuchâtel (Lac de Neuchâtel, Neuenburgersee) · Lake Sempach (Sempachersee) · Lake Thun (Thunersee) · Lake Walen (Walensee, Lake Walenstadt) · Lake Zug (Zugersee) · Lake Zurich (Zürichsee) · Sihlsee