Identity Card
Area: 361.638 miles2 (148.508 miles2 in France, 213.130 miles2 in Switzerland)
Maximum depth: 0.192 mile
55302036.109 miles3 of fresh water. The renewal of the water requires more than 11 years.
Lake Geneva is the most important lake in Europe, no other is at the same time larger, longer, and deeper than it is.
Lake Geneva
Steamboat "le Rhône" for tourists and commuters
Its climate
Because of the heat of the water, the shores of the lake benefit from a microclimate. The water steam contacts the air and there is a reaction that creates a stream of hot air. That explains softer temperatures around the lake.
In autumn, the fog settles as a lid on the mountains which surround the lake and can stay during weeks, till the end of the winter. Its altitude depends on the temperature. In the ski resorts, the sun shines very hard, above the layer of fog.
In winter, the temperature is about 33.8 °F, but it could be less (minimum 14°F). In summer, the temperature is about 68°F (maximum about 100.4 if there is a heat wave).
The temperature of water is minimum around 39.2°F in winter, and maximum around 77°F in summer. The lake can’t freeze completely in winter because it is too deep, but there are some places where that could be possible, on the banks.
It rains around 120 days per year.
Climatic graph of Thonon Layer of fog above the lake saw from Jura
Frozen harbor
About the wind…
Above and around the lake, there are lots of different winds, even special winds that we can only find in this region. For inhabitants of this region, the most famous wind is « La Bise ». Everybody knows it, and nobody loves it. It is very strong, it can blow at 86.992 miles/hour, it is a very dry and cold wind. When it blows very strongly, and it pushes the clouds, we call it the Black Bise. There is a rule which says that when the Bise begins to blow, it will blow for three days, six days, or nine days, and it is sometimes true.
There is another famous wind, called simply « The Wind ». It is weaker than "La Bise", and when it is blowing, the mist is coming. Sometimes it causes storms which are very violent.
There are lots of other winds, less important, like wind of thunderstorm, the white wind, and other little winds which are very local.
Waterspout
Wildlife
Thanks to the fresh water of Lake Geneva, many animals are attracted by it, it is a source of life, a large stock of biodiversity. Many places are preserved for animals: for fishes, birds, and mammals.
Birds: there are lots of waterbirds, like the Great Cormorant, seagulls, gulls, and ducks: mallard, tufted duck, coot, heron, crested grebe, headed gull, ashed gull, and the famous swan. The swan is a symbol of the lake, it is always represented on postcards, for tourists. There are migratory birds too, which stop at the lake: raptors like buzzard, kites, eagles and others like swallow, starling, stork...
Swans
Mammals: on the bank of the lake, we can find some beavers, which make dams, boars with their many piglets, polecat and schrews.
Every place where these birds and mammals live are protected. Some associations which want to protect and promote the wildlife have created artificial islands, where animals can live, reproduce, and raise their cubs. They try to stimulate plant development, for animals to feel safe. When it is the reproduction time, people can't access to protected islands, and it is forbidden to touch the nests of animals.
Beautiful places where we could find these animals: the gulf of Coudrée, Delta Dranse, La-Pointe-à-La-Bise ( next to Geneva), Excenevex Beach, and Tougues ( a very pretty port, and a beautiful beach).
Fishes: Lake Geneva is a perfect place for fish, with a good temperature and many plants for them. When tourits come, they want to eat the most famous of them, like the perch, which is a fish measuring 7.874 to 9.055 inches, the trout, a cousin of the salmon, who could measure 3,281 foot ! In autumn, these fish go on the rivers and reproduce there. The char is also famous, it is a fish which lives in deep waters, it could measure 2,625 feet and it weighs 6kg !
It was created by the movements of tectonic plates, which created a valley where a glacier was formed. When it melted, it was replaced by a big lake, bigger than the lake we have today. Around it, we can see the Jura range and the Alps mountains.
There are some places where the mountains directly fall down into the lake, and other places where there are beautiful beaches. There is only one sand beach, all the others are pebble beaches. It attracts tourists because they can take advantage of mountains and water at the same time.
The lake is both French and Swiss, and as a consequence, public transportations on the lake are managed by a french and swiss company. Shuttles regularly link up different ports of the lake. The price of a ticket is expensive, but it is more affordable to take a subscription, particularly for the people who live in France and work in Switzerland, we call them «frontier workers ».
Choisissez votre langue
Choose your language
