Lake Geneva

Where is Lake Geneva?

Countries on its shores: Switzerland, France.

Largest lake of: Switzerland, France.

Middle of the lake: 46.45° N, 6.55° E

The story behind it

The Rhône River starts at the Rhône Glacier in the Swiss Alps, flows into the lake at its eastern end and leaves it again in the city of Geneva. On average, the water stays in the lake for more than 11 years before it flows out. Many towns line the shores: Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Vevey and Nyon in Switzerland, and Thonon-les-Bains and Évian-les-Bains in France. In Geneva the Jet d'Eau fountain shoots water up to 140 metres into the air. Chillon Castle, by the lake, is the most visited historic building in Switzerland. Old paddle steamers still carry passengers across the water. In the year 563 a huge rockfall caused a flood wave up to 13 metres high – a tsunami – that raced along the lake and did great damage. About 60 percent of the lake belongs to Switzerland and about 40 percent to France.

Find it on the globe

Lake Geneva is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.