Lake Geneva, Glacial lake in Western Switzerland and Eastern France
Lake Geneva is a glacial lake in western Switzerland and eastern France, stretching 73 kilometers between the two countries and reaching depths of 310 meters. The Rhône flows through it, bringing clear water from the Alps, while the shores are lined with steep slopes and forested coastlines in many places.
Lake Geneva formed when the Rhône glacier retreated after the last ice age, about sixteen thousand years ago; the Grand Lac basin is tectonic, the Petit Lac carved by the glacier. The name lacus Lemannus was already used by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, and the lake was long called Lacus Lausonius, the lake of Lausanne, before Geneva's rise made Lac de Genève current.
The name Léman comes from an Indo-European root meaning "lake", so "lac Léman" literally means "lake lake", a tautology used since Antiquity. Strabon wrote "lemanè limnè" in the 1st century BC, and Caesar used lacus Lemannus in 58 BC. Genevans call it "lac de Genève", while Vaudois, Valaisans and French say Léman.
Regular ferry services run year-round between around 20 ports on both sides of the lake, making it easy to move from place to place. Most shores have publicly accessible docks and promenades where visitors can take in the views across the water.
The water sometimes moves from one side to the other in a phenomenon called seiche, where water levels at the shores can shift by up to one and a half meters. These wave-like fluctuations are caused by changes in air pressure or wind and can last several hours without being directly noticeable on the surface.
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