'Lake Thun' (
German: ''Thunersee'') is a
lake just north of the
Alps, in the
Bernese Oberland in
Switzerland. It took its name from the city of
Thun is on its north 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 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.
External links
★
Lake Thun Tourism Portal
★
Hochwasserschutz Thunersee - water regulation scheme at Thun
★
Hydrological data for Lake Thun at
Spiez - historic and current data: waterlevels