Totensee
Encyclopedia
Totensee is a small natural lake
(0.18 km²
) at the Grimsel Pass
in the canton of Valais
, Switzerland
. It is used as a reservoir
and drained into Grimselsee
.
In November 2006, the lake's entire trout population died, possibly due to algae
.
The name Totensee (also: Lake Toten, literally "Lake of the Dead") is said to be derived from soldiers of Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen driven into the lake by the people of Valais.
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,...
(0.18 km²
1 E5 m²
To help compare sizes of different geographic regions, areas between 10 hectares and 100 hectares are listed below.* Areas smaller than 0.1 km2* 0.1 km2 is equal to:**1 E+5 m² or 100,000 m2...
) at the Grimsel Pass
Grimsel Pass
Grimsel Pass is a Swiss high mountain pass.-Position:It connects the valley of the Rhone River in the canton of Valais and the Haslital in the canton of Bern....
in the canton of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
, 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 used as a 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...
and drained into Grimselsee
Grimselsee
Grimselsee or Lake Grimsel is an artificial lake near Grimsel pass in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland. With a volume of 95 mio m³, it is larger than other hydroelectric reservoirs in the region: Oberaarsee, Räterichsbodensee and Gelmersee. The dam was completed in 1932 and is operated by...
.
In November 2006, the lake's entire trout population died, possibly due to algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
.
The name Totensee (also: Lake Toten, literally "Lake of the Dead") is said to be derived from soldiers of Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen driven into the lake by the people of Valais.