| Lake Morat Lac de Morat Murtensee |
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| Location | Canton of Fribourg/Vaud |
| Coordinates | 46°56′N 7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°ECoordinates: 46°56′N 7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°E |
| 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 | Murten |
Lake Murten (French: Lac de Morat; German: Murtensee) is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore.
It is the smallest of the three lakes in the Seeland 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 Biel through the Zihl canal (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 Biel: 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.
External links
Media related to Lake Murten at Wikimedia Commons- Lake Murten in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- Waterlevels of Lake Murten at Murten
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