Vänern

Where is Vänern?

Countries on its shores: Sweden.

Largest lake of: Sweden.

Middle of the lake: 58.92° N, 13.50° E

The story behind it

Vänern got its present shape after the last Ice Age, about 10 000 years ago. When the ice melted, water covered the whole width of Sweden and the lake was joined to the sea. Because of that old connection, some animals live here that are not normally found in freshwater lakes. The river Klarälven flows into the lake near the city of Karlstad on the northern shore, and the Göta älv carries its water south-west towards the Kattegat and the North Sea. The Göta Canal links Vänern with Lake Vättern to the east, so boats can travel from one lake to the other. Vänern has about 22 000 islands and skerries, which are small rocky islands. The Djurö archipelago in the middle of the lake is a national park. Terns and gulls fly over the water, great cormorants have come back, and anglers catch brown trout and zander.

Find it on the globe

Vänern 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.