The largest town on its shore is Aix-les-Bains. Chambéry, the capital of Savoie, lies about 10km south of the lake. The lake is mainly fed by the river Leysse (and other small rivers), and it drains towards the river Rhône through the Canal de Savières, an artificial channel. It is a Ramsar site. The extinct bezoule was found only in this lake.
The lake was formed during the last period of global glaciation in the Alps (Würm glaciation) during the Pleistocene epoch. It has a surface area of 44.5 square kilometres (4,450 hectares). The long and narrow north-south axis of the lake extends 18km in length, and ranges between 1.6km and 3.5km in width.[2] The lake's average depth is 85m, and its maximum depth in 145m. The lake is meromictic. Unlike ordinary lakes, its deep water does not mix annually with water closer to the surface.[3]
Named Lacus de Burgeto in 1313, its name "Le Bourget" comes from the eponymous castle, which became the main residence of the Counts of Savoy from the middle of the 13th century until the following century. Formerly, it was called "Lac de Châtillon" (Ripa laci de Castellione in the 13th century), in reference to the castle and the eponymous seigneury. It is mentioned in particular in the donation made by the Count of Savoy Amédée III in 1125, for the foundation of the abbey of Hautecombe, "on the shore of the lake of Châtillon" (supra ripam loci de Castellione).
In spite of this, it is highly influenced by its interior position within France near several mountain ranges, resulting in quite hot summers and cool to cold winters with frequent temperatures below freezing, especially at night.
Convective rainfall is frequent for much of the year, rendering high precipitation/day quotas. The nearest weather station is located at Chambéry Airport, less than a mile south of the lake.
More information Climate data for Chambéry Airport (1981–2010 averages), Month ...
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Lake_of_Bourget, and is written by contributors.
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