Attersee (lake)

About

Lake Attersee (less commonly also Lake Kammersee, English sometimes Lake Atter) is a lake in the Upper Austrian part of the Salzkammergut, in the district of Vöcklabruck, and lies at an elevation of 469 m.a.A. The outflow from Lake Attersee passes through a weir into the River Ager, which flows via the River Traun into the Danube. This nutrient-poor lake, with its varied shorelines, provides habitats for many animal and plant species and has been designated a Natura 2000 site since 2006. With a water surface area of over 46 km², it is the largest lake situated entirely within Austria. At 169 metres, it is the second-deepest lake in Austria after neighbouring Lake Traunsee, and with a water volume of almost 4 billion cubic metres, it is surpassed only by (the entire) Lake Constance. The Attersee is owned by the Austrian Federal Forests, is a major tourist destination in Upper Austria and a popular swimming lake, as well as a diving and sailing area. On the shores of the Attersee lie the remains of Neolithic pile-dwelling settlements, which form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps".

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.