The Walensee, also known as ''Lake Walen'' or ''Lake Walenstadt'' from
Walenstadt
Walenstadt is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Walen (also known as "Lake Walenstadt").
Geography
Walenstadt has an area of . Of this area, ...
, is one of the larger
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 large ...
s in
Switzerland, with about two thirds of its area in the
Canton of St. Gallen
The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen.
Located in northeastern ...
and about one third in the
Canton of Glarus. Other towns and villages at the lake include
Weesen,
Quinten,
Quarten
Quarten is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland, in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, above Lake Walensee. Besides Quarten itself, the municipality includes the settlements of Oberterzen, Unterterzen, Qui ...
, and Murg.
The three main rivers leading to the lake are the
Seez,
Murgbach, and
Linth
The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length.
The water power of the Lin ...
. The last continues its course from Walensee to
Lake Zurich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich (Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...
. The
Schnittlauchinsel, at the eastern end of the lake, is the only island in the Walensee.
The
Churfirsten
Churfürsten is a mountain range in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. They form the natural boundary between the canton's Toggenburg and Sarganserland districts.
They are the southernmost range of the Appenzell Alps, separated from the Gl ...
range raises steeply on the north side from the lake's level at 419 m to 2,306 m above sea level. On the south, the lake is overlooked by the
Mürtschenstock
The Mürtschenstock is a mountain massif of the Glarus Alps, overlooking the Walensee in the canton of Glarus
, neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ)
, twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germ ...
Massif, whose peak is 2,441 m above sea level. The highest point of the lake's drainage basin is the
Tödi
The Tödi (), is a mountain massif and with the mountain peak Piz Russein the highest mountain in the Glarus Alps and the highest summit in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. It is located on the border between the cantons of canton of Graubünden ...
(3,614 m).
The lake provided the inspiration for a solo piano piece by
Hungarian Romantic composer
Franz Liszt,
Au lac de Wallenstadt. The piece is part of a collection of solo piano works inspired by his travels to
Switzerland in the 1830s.
Gallery
Aerial image of the Walensee.jpg, Aerial image of the Walensee
File:Walensee, Switzerland.JPG, Looking to the west towards Amden
References
External links
*
Waterlevels of Walenseeat Murg
*
Walen
Lakes of the canton of Glarus
Lakes of the canton of St. Gallen
LWalensee
Glarus–St. Gallen border
{{Glarus-geo-stub