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Lake of Constance

Lake Constance
Bodensee
Bodensee satellit.jpg
satellite image
Karte Bodensee.png
map
Location Germany, Switzerland, Austria
Coordinates 47°35′N 9°28′E / 47.583°N 9.467°E / 47.583; 9.467Coordinates: 47°35′N 9°28′E / 47.583°N 9.467°E / 47.583; 9.467
Primary inflows Rhine
Primary outflows Rhine
Catchment area 11,500 km2 (4,400 sq mi)
Basin countries Germany, Switzerland, Austria
Max. length 63 km (39 mi)
Max. width 14 km (8.7 mi)
Surface area 571 km2 (220 sq mi)
Average depth 90 m (300 ft)
Max. depth 251 m (823 ft)
Water volume 51.4 km3 (12 cu mi)
Residence time 4.3 years
Surface elevation 395 m (1,296 ft)
Frozen 1795, 1830, 1880 (partial), 1963
Islands Mainau, Reichenau, Lindau
Sections/sub-basins Obersee, Überlinger See; Untersee, Zeller See, Gnadensee
Settlements see list

Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.

The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau, St Gallen and Schaffhausen. The river Rhine flows into the lake from the south, with its original course forming the Austro-Swiss border, and has its outflow of the "Lower Lake" where - except from Schaffhausen, see above - it forms the German-Swiss border until the city Basel.

Freshwater Lake Constance is central Europe's third largest, after Lake Balaton and Lake Geneva. It is 63 km (39 mi) long, and at its widest point, nearly 14 km (8.7 mi). It covers approximately 571 km2 (220 sq mi), and is 395 m (1,296 ft) above sea level. The greatest depth is 252 metres (827 ft) in the middle of the eastern part (Obersee). Its volume is approximately 10×10^9 m3 (13×10^9 cu yd). The lake has four parts: the main section, called Obersee, 476 km2 (184 sq mi); the north section, Überlinger See, 61 km2 (24 sq mi); the west section, Untersee, 63 km2 (24 sq mi); and the northwest section, the Zeller See and Gnadensee. The regulated Rhine flows into the lake in the southeast, through the Obersee, the city of Konstanz and the Untersee, and flows out near Stein am Rhein. The lake itself is an important drinking water source for southwestern Germany, called Bodensee-Wasserversorgung ("Lake Constance Water Supply"). The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Tödi at 3,614 metres above sea level.


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