Editing Lake Geneva (section)

==Geography==
Lake Geneva is divided into three parts because of its different types of formation (tectonic folding, glacial erosion, sedimentation):<ref name="NationalMap200-03"/> 
# {{lang|fr|Haut Lac}} ({{gloss|Upper Lake}}), the eastern part from the Rhône estuary to the line of [[Meillerie]]–[[Rivaz VD|Rivaz]]
# {{lang|fr|Grand Lac}} ({{gloss|Large Lake}}), the largest and deepest basin with the lake's largest width
# {{lang|fr|Petit Lac}} ({{gloss|Small Lake}}), the most south-west, narrower, and less-deep part from [[Yvoire]]–[[Prangins|Promenthoux next Prangins]] to the exit in Geneva

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, [[Swisstopo]], {{lang|fr|Lac de Genève}} designates that part of the {{lang|fr|Petit Lac}} which lies within the cantonal borders of Geneva (excluding the cantonal exclave [[Céligny]]), so about from [[Versoix]]–[[Hermance]] to the Rhône outflow in Geneva.<ref name="NationalMap50-270">{{cite web |url=http://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/internet/swisstopo/en/home/products/maps/national/50.html |title=270 - Genève |publisher=Federal Office of Topography, swisstopo, Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport |series=Swiss National Map 1:50 000 - Switzerland on 78 maps |year=2011 |access-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112214941/http://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/internet/swisstopo/en/home/products/maps/national/50.html |archive-date=12 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Lac Léman entre Glion et Caux.JPG|thumb|center|600px|View of Lake Geneva about between [[Vevey]] in front, [[Lausanne]] in the back behind [[Mont Pèlerin]] (CH) on the right and [[Évian-les-Bains]] (F) on the left, shot from a place between [[Caux, Switzerland|Caux]] and [[Glion]] above [[Montreux]]]]

The [[Chablais Alps]] border is its southern shore, and the western [[Bernese Alps]] lie over its eastern side. The high summits of [[Grand Combin]] and [[Mont Blanc]] are visible from some places.

The lake lies on the course of the [[Rhône]]. The river has its source at the [[Rhône Glacier]] near the [[Grimsel Pass]] to the east of the lake and flows down through the [[canton of Valais]], entering the lake between [[Villeneuve, Vaud|Villeneuve]] and [[Le Bouveret]], before flowing slowly towards its egress at [[Geneva]]. Other tributaries are La Dranse, L'Aubonne, La Morges, [[La Venoge]], La Vuachère, and La Veveyse.

[[File:View over Lake Geneva 1.jpg|thumb|upright|left|View of the lake and the Chablais Alps from [[Caux, Switzerland|Caux]]]]
Lake Geneva is the largest body of water in Switzerland, and greatly exceeds in size all others that are connected with the main valleys of the [[Alps]]. It is in the shape of a crescent, with the horns pointing south, the northern shore being {{cvt|95|km|mi}} and the southern shore {{cvt|72|km|mi}} in length. The crescent form was more regular in a recent geological period, when the lake extended to [[Bex]], about {{cvt|18|km|mi}} south of Villeneuve. The detritus of the Rhône has filled up this portion of the bed of the lake, and it appears that within the historical period, the waters extended about {{cvt|2|km|mi}} beyond the present eastern margin of the lake. The greatest depth of the lake, in the broad portion between [[Évian-les-Bains]] and [[Lausanne]], where it is just {{cvt|13|km|mi}} in width, has been measured as {{cvt|310|m|ft}}, putting the bottom of the lake at {{cvt|62|m|ft}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]]. The lake's surface is the [[List of cantons of Switzerland by elevation|lowest point]] of the cantons of Valais and Vaud.<ref name = Ball>[[John Ball (naturalist)|John Ball]], ''A Guide to the Western Alps'', p. 254</ref> The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is [[Monte Rosa]] at 4,634 metres above sea level.<ref>{{cite map |publisher=[[Swisstopo]] |title=1:25,000 topographic map |url=http://s.geo.admin.ch/5d2b881ee |access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>

[[File:CGN-Helvétie-1926.jpg|thumb|[[Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman|CGN]] paddle steamer in 1926 near Vevey with the Dents du Midi in background]]
The beauty of the shores of the lake and of the sites of many of the places near its banks has long been celebrated. However, it is only from the eastern end of the lake, between Vevey and Villeneuve, that the scenery assumes an [[Alps|Alpine]] character. On the south side, the mountains of Savoy and Valais are for the most part rugged and sombre, while those of the northern shore fall in gentle vine-covered slopes, thickly set with villages and castles.<ref name=Ball/>

The snowy peaks of the [[Mont Blanc Massif]] are shut out from the western end of the lake by the Voirons mountain, and from its eastern end by the bolder summits of the [[Le Grammont|Grammont]], [[Cornettes de Bise]], and [[Dent d'Oche]], but are seen from Geneva, and between [[Nyon]] and [[Morges]]. From Vevey to Bex, where the lake originally extended, the shores are enclosed by comparatively high and bold mountains, and the vista terminates in the grand portal of the defile of [[Saint-Maurice, Switzerland|St. Maurice]], cleft to a depth of nearly {{cvt|2700|m|ft}} between the opposite peaks of the [[Dents du Midi]] and the [[Dent de Morcles]].<ref name = Ball/>

The shore between [[Nyon]] and [[Lausanne]] is called {{lang|fr|La Côte}} because it is flatter. Between Lausanne and Vevey it is called [[Lavaux]] and is famous for its hilly vineyards.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Corporate_Dossier/Switzerland_mastering_the_art_of_wine_making/articleshow/2491742.cms |title=Switzerland mastering the art of wine making |last=Cuckoo |first=Paul |date=26 October 2007 |publisher=India Times |access-date=24 June 2009 |newspaper=The Economic Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/short-breaks/european-breaks-three-suns-one-grape-a-lot-of-flavour-462211.html |title=European Breaks: Three suns, one grape, a lot of flavour |last=Mourby |first=Adrian |date=19 August 2007 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=24 June 2009}}</ref>

The average surface elevation of {{cvt|372|m|ft}} [[AMSL|above sea level]] is controlled by the {{ill|Seujet Dam|fr|Barrage du Seujet}} in Geneva.<ref>[http://www.rhone-geneve.ch/sousindicateur.php?ID_indicateur=9&ID_domaine=2&ID_sousindicateur=40&typecat= Seujet / Lac Léman] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707001919/http://www.rhone-geneve.ch/sousindicateur.php?ID_indicateur=9&ID_domaine=2&ID_sousindicateur=40&typecat= |date=7 July 2011 }} rhone-geneve.ch. Retrieved on 20 July 2009</ref>