Lake Morat or Lake Murten (french: Lac de Morat ; german: Murtensee) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

located in the cantons of

Fribourg , Location of , Location of () () or , ; or , ; gsw, label=Swiss German, Frybùrg ; it, Friburgo or ; rm, Friburg. is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), ...

and

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small bilingual town of

Murten/Morat Murten (German) or Morat (French, ; frp, Morât ) is a bilingual municipality and a city in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat (also known as Lake Murten). Morat is s ...

on its southern shore. It is the smallest of the three lakes in the Seeland or Pays des trois lacs area of the

Swiss plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...

located at the foot of the first chain of the

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Fre ...

. The main tributary is the river

Broye The Broye (; frp, Brouye''Dictionnaire-Dikchenéro: Français-Patois/Patê-Franché''. Société cantonale des patoisans fribourgeois. Fribourg: 2013. p. 87 ) is a 68 km long river, in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, in Switzerland. It ha ...

. Since the

Jura water correction The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted of a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Morat connected to Lake Neuchatel by the Broye Canal, the latter connect ...

its water leaves the lake through the

Broye Canal The Broye (; frp, Brouye''Dictionnaire-Dikchenéro: Français-Patois/Patê-Franché''. Société cantonale des patoisans fribourgeois. Fribourg: 2013. p. 87 ) is a 68 km long river, in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, in Switzerland. It ha ...

(''Canal de la Broye'') into nearby

Lake Neuchâtel Lake Neuchâtel (french: Lac de Neuchâtel ; frp, Lèc de Nôchâtél; german: Neuenburgersee) is a lake primarily in Romandy, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by ...

that is connected to Lake Bienne/Lake Biel through the

Thielle The river Thielle (french: La Thielle, or La Thièle, german: Zihl), is a tributary to the Aare, in the Swiss Seeland. The Thielle results from the merging of the Orbe and Talent, northeast of the little city of Orbe in the Swiss canton of Vau ...

canal. Thus all three lakes form a natural

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

in order to retain overflow water from the river

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it desce ...

that flows into Lake Bienne/Biel: in times of combined heavy rainfalls and

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

melting Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the application of heat or pressure, which inc ...

in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

, the peculiar situation arises that the water flows backwards through the Thielle and Broye canals, preventing an overflow of the Grand Marais (german: Grosses Moos). Karte Murtensee fr

Notes

External links

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Waterlevels of Lake Morat
at Morat Morat Morat Morat LMorat Fribourg–Vaud border {{vaud-lake-stub