The Geneva Lake (Lac Léman in French) is the largest lake of Western Europe. Ii is spilling, 60% to Switzerland (French-speaking Switzerland) and 40% to France.

It lies on the course of the Rhône River. The river has its source at the Rhône glacier near the Grimsel Pass and it's entering the lake between Villeneuve and St-Gingolph, before flowing slowly towards its egress at Geneva. Other rivers are La Dranse to France and l'Aubonne, la Morges, La Venoge and La Veveyse to Suisse Romande (French-speaking of Switzerland).

The Lake Geneva is divided into two lakes, the "Grand Lac" (Large Lake) to the east and the "Petit Lac" (Small Lake) to the west.

By the 1960s, the Lake Geneva hat ceased being a transport artery for construction materials.

Since 1980s, the Lake Geneva is perfectly safe to swim. Today, the main leisure activities are sailing, windsurfing, boating (including water skiing and wakeboarding), rowing, scuba diving and the bath to the many beaches.

The shores between Nyon and Lausanne are called La Côte, and between Lausanne and Vevey it is called Lavaux.

Characteristics

Type of natural lake

Countries of Switzerland and France

Maximum length: 72 kilometers (44, 74 miles)

Maximum width: 13 kilometers (8, 08 miles)

Surface: 582.4 km² (234 km² in France and 348,4 km² in Switzerland)

Mass: 89 km³

Height: 372 meters (1'220.47 ft)

Maximum depth: 309, 7 meters (1'016, 08 ft)