The Obersee (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

for "Upper Lake"), also known as Upper Lake Constance, is the much larger of the two parts of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lak ...

, the other part being the Untersee ("Lower Lake").

Geography

The Obersee has an area of 473 km² in size and extends for 63 km between

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

and

Bodman-Ludwigshafen Bodman-Ludwigshafen is a municipality in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany, located on the most western shore of Lake Überlingen, the north-western part of the Upper Lake of Lake Constance (german: Bodensee). The munic ...

. Its maximum width is 14 km. It drains through the

Seerhein The Seerhein ("Lake Rhine") is a river about four kilometres long, in the basin of Lake Constance. It is the outflow of the Upper Lake Constance and the main tributary of the Lower Lake Constance. The water level of the lower lake is about 30& ...

in Constance into the Untersee. Its main inflow is the Alpine Rhine. The distinctive, northwestern arm and -large Lake Überlingen (

Standard German of Germany German Standard German, Standard German of Germany, or High German of Germany is the variety of Standard German that is written and spoken in Germany. It is the variety of German most commonly taught to foreigners. It is not uniform, which mean ...

: ''Überlinger See'') is part of the Upper Lake Constance, as well as the

Bay of Bregenz A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

, and the

Constance Hopper The Constance Hopper, Bay of Constance or Constance Funnel''Adventure Gu ...

. The countries that border the lake are

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, with its cantons of

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is par ...

and St. Gallen,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, with its federal state

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with th ...

, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, with its federal states of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. The border between the riparian states on the south-eastern main part of the Obersee have never been jointly agreed (see

); only the smaller northwestern water of Lake Überlingen is completely German territory.

Origin of the name

The Romans called it ''Lacus Venetus'', ''Lacus Brigantinus'' and ''Lacus Constantinus''. In the Middle Ages the dominant term was ''Lacus Bodamicus'', or in German ''Bodensee''. Gradually, this name began to include the Lower Lake (''Lacus Acronius''), so the term "Upper Lake" was introduced for the larger lake.

References

External links

International Bodensee Conference

Bodensee-data of the International Lake Constance Conference
{{Authority control LObersee Geography of Lake Constance Lakes of Baden-Württemberg Lakes of Vorarlberg Lakes of the canton of St. Gallen Lakes of Thurgau Konstanz (district) Bodenseekreis Lindau (district)

Geography

Origin of the name

See also

References

External links