Lake Morat 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,...

 located in the cantons of Fribourg

Canton of Fribourg

The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg. The name Fribourg is French, whereas is the German name for both the canton and the town.-History:...

 and Vaud

Vaud

Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...

 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....

. It is named after the small town of Murten/Morat

Murten

Murten is a municipality in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat. Morat is situated between Bern and Lausanne and is the capital of the Lake District of the canton of Fribourg....

 on its southern shore. Its official name is "Lake Morat".

It is the smallest of the three lakes in the Seeland

Seeland (Switzerland)

Seeland is a region in Switzerland, at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains containing the 3 lakes of Morat , Neuchâtel and Bienne . In previous aeras, it was the floodplain of the Aare and is thus swampy. After the huge hydrological works Jura water correction, the area...

 area of the Swiss plateau

Swiss plateau

The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...

 located at the foot of the first chain of the Jura mountains

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...

. The main tributary is the river Broye

Broye

The Broye is a 68 km long river, in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, in Switzerland. It has a watershed area of 850 km².-Presentation:...

.

Since the Jura water correction

Jura water correction

The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted in a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Morat connected to Lake Neuchâtel by the Broye canal, the latter connected to Lake of Bienne by the Thielle canal, an area so...

 its water leaves the lake through the Broye Canal

Broye

The Broye is a 68 km long river, in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, in Switzerland. It has a watershed area of 850 km².-Presentation:...

 (Canal de la Broye) into nearby 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....

 that is connected to Lake Biel

Lake Biel

Lake Biel or Lake 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 , at the language boundary between German & French speaking areas.The lake is 15 km long and up...

 through the canal de la 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...

. Thus all three lakes form a natural reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 in order to retain overflow water from the river Aar that flows into Lake Biel: in times of combined heavy rainfalls and glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

melting

Meltwater

Meltwater is the water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice and ice shelfs over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing...

 in the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, the peculiar situation arises that the water flows backwards through the Thielle and Broye canals, preventing an overflow of the Grand Marais

Grand Marais, Seeland

Grand Marais, Seeland is a region in Switzerland, at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains contained by the three lakes of Morat , Neuchâtel and Bienne...

.

External links

• Waterlevels of Lake Murten at Murten
  Murten
  Murten is a municipality in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat. Morat is situated between Bern and Lausanne and is the capital of the Lake District of the canton of Fribourg....