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Lake in Switzerland
Lake Thun
(
German
:
Thunersee
) is an
Alpine
lake in the
Bernese Oberland
in
Switzerland
named after the city of
Thun
, on its northern shore. At 48.3 km
2
(18.6 sq mi) in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton.
The lake was created after the
last glacial period
. After the 10th century, it split from
Lake Brienz
, before which the two lakes were combined, as
Wendelsee
("Lake Wendel").
[2]
The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the
Finsteraarhorn
at 4,274 metres (14,022 ft) above sea level.
[3]
Lake Thun's approximate 2,500 square kilometres (970 sq mi) catchment area frequently causes local flooding after heavy rainfalls. This occurs because the river
Aare
(
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 southeast, which is 6 metres (20 ft) higher than Lake Thun, and various streams in the Oberland, including the
Kander
.
In 1835, passenger steamships began operating regularly on the lake. Ten passenger ships, operated by the local railway company
BLS AG
like
Blumlisalp
, serve the towns of
Interlaken
and
Thun
; the
Interlaken ship canal
and
Thun ship canal
connect the lake to
Interlaken West railway station
and
Thun railway station
respectively.
[4]
[5]
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.
[6]
[7]
References
[
edit
]
External links
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edit
]
Lakes of Switzerland
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Major lakes
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