| Lake Thun Thunersee |
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| Location | Canton of Berne |
| Coordinates | 46°41′N 7°43′E / 46.683°N 7.717°ECoordinates: 46°41′N 7°43′E / 46.683°N 7.717°E |
| Lake type | oligotrophic, mesotrophic |
| Primary inflows | Aar Kander |
| Primary outflows | Aar |
| Catchment area | 2,500 km² |
| Basin countries | Switzerland |
| Max. length | 17.5 km (10.9 mi) |
| Max. width | 3.5 km |
| Surface area | 48.3 km² |
| Average depth | 136 m (450 ft) |
| Max. depth | 217 m (710 ft) |
| Water volume | 6.5 km³ |
| Residence time | 684 days |
| Surface elevation | 558 m (1,830 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 km² 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. 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 Lötschbergbahn.
Following World War II and up until 1964, the Swiss Government disposed of over 9000 tons of unused munitions into Lake Thun.[1]
External links
Media related to Lake Thun at Wikimedia Commons- Lake Thun Tourism Portal
- Hochwasserschutz Thunersee (German) - water regulation scheme at Thun
- Hydrological data for Lake Thun at Spiez - historic and current data: waterlevels
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