Lake Murten

Lake Morat Lac de Morat Murtensee
Location	Canton of Fribourg/Vaud
Coordinates	46°56′N 7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°E / 46.933; 7.083Coordinates: 46°56′N 7°5′E / 46.933°N 7.083°E / 46.933; 7.083
Primary inflows	Broye
Primary outflows	Broye canal
Catchment area	693 km²
Basin countries	Switzerland
Max. length	8.2 km
Max. width	2.8 km
Surface area	22.8 km²
Max. depth	45 m
Water volume	0.55 km³
Residence time	1.6 years
Surface elevation	429 m
Islands	La Grande Ile (islet)
Settlements	Murten

Lake Morat (French: Lac de Morat (official name); German: Murtensee) is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore. Its official name is "Lake Morat".

It is the smallest of the three lakes in the Seeland area of the Swiss plateau located at the foot of the first chain of the Jura mountains. The main tributary is the river Broye.

Since the Jura water correction its water leaves the lake through the Broye Canal (Canal de la Broye) into nearby Lake Neuchâtel that is connected to Lake Biel through the canal de la Thielle. Thus all three lakes form a natural reservoir in order to retain overflow water from the river Aar that flows into Lake Biel: in times of combined heavy rainfalls and glacier melting in the Alps, the peculiar situation arises that the water flows backwards through the Thielle and Broye canals, preventing an overflow of the Grand Marais.

External links

Media related to Lake Murten at Wikimedia Commons

• Lake Murten in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Waterlevels of Lake Murten at Murten