Titisee
Encyclopedia
Titisee is a lake
in the southern Black Forest
in Baden-Württemberg
. It is said it got its name from Roman Emperor Titus
. It covers an area of 1.3 km² and has an average depth of 20 m. It owes its creation to the Feldberg glacier
, the moraine
ploughed up by which in the Pleistocene
epoch nowadays forms the lake's shores. The lake's outflow, at 840 m above sea level
, is the river Gutach (or as it is called farther downstream, the Wutach). On the north shore lies the spa town
of the same name, today a part of the municipality of Titisee-Neustadt
.
These regulations were put in place in the early 1980s after there had been an accident. Until that time, the lake had been used in the wintertime as a landing strip
for small aircraft
. A tractor
with a snowplough
was used to keep the landing strip free of snow. One winter, however, the tractor broke through the ice and sank to the bottom of the lake, taking the driver with it.
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 southern Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
. It is said it got its name from Roman Emperor Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
. It covers an area of 1.3 km² and has an average depth of 20 m. It owes its creation to the Feldberg 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...
, the moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
ploughed up by which in the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch nowadays forms the lake's shores. The lake's outflow, at 840 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, is the river Gutach (or as it is called farther downstream, the Wutach). On the north shore lies the spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
of the same name, today a part of the municipality of Titisee-Neustadt
Titisee-Neustadt
Titisee-Neustadt is a municipality in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is made up of the six communities of Neustadt, Langenordnach, Rudenberg, Titisee, Schwärzenbach and Waldau.The town of Neustadt is a spa known for its Kneipp hydrotherapeutic...
.
Wintertime freezing
Titisee takes a long time to freeze in the winter owing to the winds, which almost always keep the surface water moving. For the lake to be opened for use, ice samples must reach a thickness of at least 16 cm. When the outlook favours opening the lake, daily ice measurements are taken by the Titisee-Neustadt city works department at three or four places. If opening the ice to public use is possible, and those responsible give it their blessing, then specific, demarcated areas of the lake are opened, but never the whole lake.These regulations were put in place in the early 1980s after there had been an accident. Until that time, the lake had been used in the wintertime as a landing strip
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
for small aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. A tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
with a snowplough
Snowplow
A snowplow is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes...
was used to keep the landing strip free of snow. One winter, however, the tractor broke through the ice and sank to the bottom of the lake, taking the driver with it.