Geneva The Lakeof

Geneva, The Lake of, or Lake Leman (classic Lacus Lemanus), lies between Switzerland and the department of Haute Savoie, France, extending in a crescent shape from E. tb'W. for a total length of 53 miles, with a mean breadth of 6 miles, a superficial area of 223 square miles, and a level of 1,230 feet above the sea. The W. extremity narrows suddenly to some two miles from the strait of Promonthoux, and this part, about 14 miles long, is sometimes called "The Little Lake." The greatest depth (1,095 feet) is attained between Evian and Ouchy. The water is remarkable for its blue colour, and is liable to rather peculiar movements, called seiches, which cause a rise of as much as four feet first on one shore, then on the other. There are also local winds - e.g. the Bise from N.E., the Bornaud from the Savoy valleys, and the dry Sechard from S. Besides the Rhone, which enters near Villeneuve at the E. end and issues at Geneva, the lake receives several small rivers as the Dranse and the Venoge. Fish are not very abundant, but the fresh-water fauna at the lowest depths possesses considerable interest. It is never wholly frozen over. The shores are undulating, well-wooded, and fertile on the N., but more boldly picturesque and less cultivated on the S. Nyon, Rolle, Morges, Ouchy, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, and Clarens (the scene of Rousseau's romance) are the chief spots on the Swiss littoral. Evian, Thonon, and Ferney (Voltaire's residence) are the only places of interest on the French side.