Lake Thun is an
AlpineThe Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the
Bernese OberlandThe Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The Flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. It took its name from the city of
ThunThun is a municipality in the district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with about 42,136 inhabitants ....
, 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
AarThe Aar , a tributary of the Rhine, is the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about 295 km , during which distance it descends , draining an area of .-Course:The Aar rises in the great Aar...
, which drains Lake Thun, has only limited capacity to handle the excess
runoffSurface runoff is the water flow which occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the hydrologic cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint...
.
The lake is fed by water from
Lake BrienzLake Brienz 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...
to the south east, which lies 6 metres higher than Lake Thun and various streams in the Oberland, including the
KanderThe Kander River in Switzerland is a tributary of the Aar River. It is 44 km long and has a watershed of 1,126 km². It flows into Lake Thun.With respect to rafting, the Kander is classified as unrunnable due to the river's numerous rapids and barriers...
.
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Lake Thun is an
AlpineThe Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the
Bernese OberlandThe Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The Flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. It took its name from the city of
ThunThun is a municipality in the district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with about 42,136 inhabitants ....
, 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
AarThe Aar , a tributary of the Rhine, is the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about 295 km , during which distance it descends , draining an area of .-Course:The Aar rises in the great Aar...
, which drains Lake Thun, has only limited capacity to handle the excess
runoffSurface runoff is the water flow which occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the hydrologic cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint...
.
The lake is fed by water from
Lake BrienzLake Brienz 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...
to the south east, which lies 6 metres higher than Lake Thun and various streams in the Oberland, including the
KanderThe Kander River in Switzerland is a tributary of the Aar River. It is 44 km long and has a watershed of 1,126 km². It flows into Lake Thun.With respect to rafting, the Kander is classified as unrunnable due to the river's numerous rapids and barriers...
. Lake Thun was created after the last
ice ageThe general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual...
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.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/world/europe/13swiss.html?
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