Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent (345.31 km2 or 133.32 sq mi) of the lake belongs to Switzerland (the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Valais) and forty percent (234.71 km2 or 90.62 sq mi) to France (the department of Haute-Savoie).

Name

While the exact origins of the name are unknown, the name lacus Lemannus was in use during the time of Julius Caesar. Lemannus comes from Ancient Greek Liménos Límnē (Λιμένος Λίμνη) meaning "port's lake". In Medieval Latin it was known as Lacus Lausonius, although this name was also used for a town or district on the lake, or Lacus Losanetes; the equivalent in Old French was Lac de Lausanne. Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève (translated into English as Lake Geneva), but Le Léman was the common name on all local maps and is the customary name in the French language. In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva has become predominant.

Geography

Lake Geneva is divided into three parts because of its different types of formation (tectonic folding, glacial erosion, sedimentation):

Haut Lac ('Upper Lake'), the eastern part from the Rhône estuary to the line of Meillerie–Rivaz

Grand Lac ('Large Lake'), the largest and deepest basin with the lake's largest width

Petit Lac ('Small Lake'), the most south-west, narrower, and less-deep part from Yvoire–Promenthoux next Prangins to the exit in Geneva

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Swisstopo, Lac de Genève designates that part of the Petit Lac which lies within the cantonal borders of Geneva (excluding the cantonal exclave Céligny), so about from Versoix–Hermance to the Rhône outflow in Geneva.

The Chablais Alps border is its southern shore, and the western Bernese Alps lie over its eastern side.