Lake Biel
Encyclopedia
Lake Biel or Lake Bienne (German
: Bielersee, French
: Lac de Bienne) is a lake
in the west of Switzerland
. Together with Lake Morat
and Lake Neuchâtel
, it is one of the three large lakes in the Jura
region of Switzerland. It lies approximately at 47°5′N 7°10′E, at the language boundary between German & French speaking areas.
The lake is 15 km long and up to 4.1 km wide. Its surface area is 39.3 km²
, the maximum depth 74 m. The lake is located at 429 metres above sea level.
Lake Biel has a catchment area of about 8,305 km²
. Water remains in the lake for an average of 58 days. The river Aare, the river Zihl/Thielle
flowing from Lake Neuchâtel, the Twannbach draining water down from the surplombing first Jura mountain range and the river Suze
draining water down from the Vallon de St. Imier, are the main tributaries. The river Aare was redirected into the lake in 1878, in order to prevent the flooding of the nearby area called "Seeland", and drains the water out of the lake down to Büren
through a simultaneously man-made channel. The level of all three lakes is being controlled by a dam built across the channel, in Port.
The largest settlement along the shores of Lake Biel are the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne
and its sister city Nidau
, both located on the northern end The Sankt-Petersinsel (island) attracts tourists, mainly families. The island is located near Erlach
. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
once spent a few months on the island.
One of the main business in the area is the watch and affiliated microtechnic industries. World famous watch brands have their sites and headquarters in the area, including the Swatch Group and Rolex
movements manufacture.
The lake's surface is the lowest point of the canton of Neuchâtel.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Bielersee, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Lac de Bienne) is a lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in the west of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Together with Lake Morat
Lake Murten
Lake Morat is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore...
and Lake Neuchâtel
Lake Neuchâtel
Lake Neuchâtel is a lake in Romandy, Switzerland . The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by the cantons of Vaud, of Fribourg, and of Bern....
, it is one of the three large lakes in the Jura
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
region of Switzerland. It lies approximately at 47°5′N 7°10′E, at the language boundary between German & French speaking areas.
The lake is 15 km long and up to 4.1 km wide. Its surface area is 39.3 km²
1 E7 m²
To help compare sizes of different geographic regions, we list here areas between 10 km2 and 100 km2...
, the maximum depth 74 m. The lake is located at 429 metres above sea level.
Lake Biel has a catchment area of about 8,305 km²
1 E9 m²
To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 1,000 km2 and 10,000 km2. See also areas of other orders of magnitude.* areas less than 1000 km2* 1,000 km2 is equal to:...
. Water remains in the lake for an average of 58 days. The river Aare, the river Zihl/Thielle
Thielle
The River La Thielle is a tributary to the Aare River, in the Swiss Seeland."La Thielle" results of the merging of the river Orbe and river Talent, Northeast of the little city of Orbe in the Swiss Canton of Vaud...
flowing from Lake Neuchâtel, the Twannbach draining water down from the surplombing first Jura mountain range and the river Suze
Suze (river)
- Down flow :It takes its source in a moorland at over 900 meters of altitude, in the high valley of Les Convers, . It flows down the whole length of the valley of Saint-Imier, , leaving it through the gorge of Taubenloch, it flows across the city of Biel/Bienne into the Lake of Bienne, at the...
draining water down from the Vallon de St. Imier, are the main tributaries. The river Aare was redirected into the lake in 1878, in order to prevent the flooding of the nearby area called "Seeland", and drains the water out of the lake down to Büren
Büren, Solothurn
Büren is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-Geography:Büren has an area, , of . Of this area, or 46.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 45.6% is forested...
through a simultaneously man-made channel. The level of all three lakes is being controlled by a dam built across the channel, in Port.
The largest settlement along the shores of Lake Biel are the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne is a city in the district of the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.It is located on the language boundary and is throughout bilingual. Biel is the German name for the town, Bienne its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both...
and its sister city Nidau
Nidau
Nidau is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.- Population :Nidau, located at the language boundary, although the official language is German, a high minority of French speakers live in the city, which has since long been offering them the...
, both located on the northern end The Sankt-Petersinsel (island) attracts tourists, mainly families. The island is located near Erlach
Erlach, Switzerland
Erlach is the capital municipality of the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-History:Erlach is first mentioned in 1185 as Erilacho and in 1274 as Cellie. In French it was called Cerlier. In 1264/66 Erlach received a Handfeste or document of rights from Count...
. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
once spent a few months on the island.
One of the main business in the area is the watch and affiliated microtechnic industries. World famous watch brands have their sites and headquarters in the area, including the Swatch Group and Rolex
Rolex
Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
movements manufacture.
The lake's surface is the lowest point of the canton of Neuchâtel.
Cities and villages on the lake
As the lake is located on the border of the French and German language regions, most places have names in both languages, though not all versions are still in use.- Bipschal - Bévesier
- Erlach - Cerlier
- Gaicht - Jugy
- GerolfingenGerolfingenGerolfingen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany....
- HagneckHagneckHagneck is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Hagneck has an area, , of . Of this area, or 65.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 12.6% is forested...
- IpsachIpsachIpsach is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Ipsach has an area, , of . Of this area, or 45.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 3.7% is forested...
- Landern - Le LanderonLe LanderonLe Landeron is a municipality in the district of Neuchâtel in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.-History:Le Landeron is first mentioned about 1209 as Landiron.-Prehistory:...
(Canton of NeuchâtelCanton of NeuchâtelNeuchâtel is a canton of French speaking western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...
) - LigerzLigerzLigerz is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Ligerz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 31.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 50.6% is forested...
- Gléresse - LüscherzLüscherzLüscherz is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-History:Lüscherz is first mentioned in 1271 as Luschiers, however the area has been settled since at least the Neolithic...
- Locras - MörigenMörigenMörigen is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Mörigen has an area of . Of this area, 60.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 17.6% is forested...
- Morenges - Neuenstadt - La NeuvevilleLa NeuvevilleLa Neuveville is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura .-Geography:...
- NidauNidauNidau is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.- Population :Nidau, located at the language boundary, although the official language is German, a high minority of French speakers live in the city, which has since long been offering them the...
- Sankt-PetersinselSt. PetersinselSt. Petersinsel or Île de St-Pierre is a peninsula situated in Lake Biel in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It was formed in the last Ice Age , when the Rhône Glacier reached as far as the Jura mountains...
- Ile de Saint-Pierre - Schafis - Chavanne
- Schernelz - Cernaux
- Sutz-Lattrigen
- TäuffelenTäuffelenTäuffelen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Täuffelen has an area of . Of this area, 60.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12% is forested...
- TüscherzTüscherz-AlferméeTüscherz-Alfermée was a municipality in the district of Nidau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Tüscherz-Alfermée and Twann merged into the municipality of Twann-Tüscherz.-History:...
- Daucher - TwannTwannTwann was a municipality in the district of Nidau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Tüscherz-Alfermée and Twann merged into the municipality of Twann-Tüscherz.-Geography:...
- Douanne - VinelzVinelzVinelz is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Vinelz has an area of . Of this area, 52.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 36.5% is forested. The rest of the land, is settled.-Demographics:Vinelz has a population of . ,...
- Fénil - Vingelz - Vigneules
- Wingreis - Vingras
External links
- Waterlevels of Lake Biel at LigerzLigerzLigerz is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Ligerz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 31.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 50.6% is forested...
- Tourism Biel/Bienne Seeland