Lake Sils
lake in Grisons, Switzerland
Lake Sils (German Silsersee, Romansh: Lej da Segl) is a lake in the Upper Engadine valley, Grisons, Switzerland. It takes its name from the village of Sils im Engadin.
Geography
The lake lies at an altitude of 1,797 metres above sea level, between Maloja Pass and Lake Silvaplana. Several mountains over 3,000 metres overlook the lake, notably Piz Corvatsch, Piz Grevasalvas and Piz da la Margna. The lake's drainage basin culminates at Piz Fora (3,336 m) and comprises the Vadrec da Fedoz glacier.
With a surface area of 4.1 km2, Lake Sils is the largest lake of the Engadine. It is also the largest natural lake in the Alps lying above 1,000 metres. The lake was formed by a prehistoric landslide dam, similarly to Lake Silvaplana.
The wooded Chastè peninsula extends into the lake at its north-eastern end. At the end of the peninsula there is a plaque to Friedrich Nietzsche with a passage from Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
“Lake Sils” enters the record as lake in Grisons, Switzerland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Lake, Sils and lake can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Lake Sils” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Lake, Sils and lake provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14512. VIAF identifies the subject as 146990057. The Library of Congress control number is no2010062420. Authority coordinates are 46.417, 9.733. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. 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 “Lake Sils”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Lake Sils primary sources, Lake Sils archive and Lake 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 “Lake Sils”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Lake Sils” 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.