Bassenthwaite Lake
lake in Cumbria, England, UK
Bassenthwaite Lake is a body of water in the Lake District in North West England, near the town of Keswick. It has an area of 5.3 km2 (2.0 sq mi), making the fourth largest of the lakes in the region. The lake has a length of approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) long and maximum width of 0.75 miles (1 km), a maximum depth of 19 m (62 ft), and a surface elevation of 68 m (223 ft) above sea level. Its primary inflow and outflow is the River Derwent, which drains into the Irish Sea at Workington. The lake is in the unitary authority of Cumberland, and the ceremonial county of Cumbria.
Bassenthwaite Lake is the only body of water in the Lake District to use the word 'lake' in its name, all the others using the local terms 'water' (e.g. Derwentwater), 'mere' (e.g. Windermere) or 'tarn' (e.g. Dock Tarn).
The A66 dual carriageway runs roughly north–south along the western side of the lake.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Bassenthwaite Lake” is lake in Cumbria, England, UK. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Bassenthwaite, Lake and lake, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “lake in Cumbria, England, UK” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q810498. VIAF identifies the subject as 315529391. Authority coordinates are 54.652, -3.215. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bassenthwaite Lake”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bassenthwaite Lake primary sources, Bassenthwaite Lake archive and Bassenthwaite research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bassenthwaite Lake”?
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bassenthwaite Lake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.