Millstätter See
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| Millstätter See Lake Millstatt |
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| Location | Carinthia |
| Coordinates | 46°47′42″N 13°34′47″E / 46.795°N 13.57972°ECoordinates: 46°47′42″N 13°34′47″E / 46.795°N 13.57972°E |
| Lake type | glacial lake |
| Primary inflows | Riegenbach |
| Primary outflows | Seebach to Lieser river |
| Catchment area | 285 km2 (110.0 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Austria |
| Max. length | 12 km (7 mi) |
| Max. width | 1.8 km (1 mi) |
| Surface area | 13.3 km2 (5.1 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 89 m (292 ft) |
| Max. depth | 142 m (466 ft) |
| Water volume | 1.205 km3 (977,000 acre·ft) |
| Residence time | 7.5 years |
| Surface elevation | 588 m (1,929 ft) |
| Settlements | Seeboden, Millstatt, Döbriach |
Lake Millstatt (German: Millstätter See, sometimes written "Millstättersee", Slovene:Miljsko jezero) is a lake in Carinthia, Austria.
[edit] General facts
Lake Millstatt is situated in the Central Eastern Alps, near the town of Spittal an der Drau. With a surface area of 13.3 km2 (5.1 sq mi) it is the second largest lake of Carinthia (after Lake Wörth), though with 142 m (466 ft) by far the deepest and most voluminous. Its steep shore gives the lake a fjord-like character. The mountains in the north are up up to 2,100 metres high and protect it from cold winds, so the water temperature at the surface can reach 25 °C (77 °F) in summer. The narrow and long basin stretches over 12 km (7 mi) from east to west. In the south the wooded Hochgosch plateau with a breadth of 2 km (1 mi) and an elevation of 876 m (2,874 ft) divides the lake from the parallel Drava valley.
The name derives from the market town Millstatt at the northern shore. Other municipalities near the lake are Seeboden and Radenthein-Döbriach. The shaded southern shore, a protected area since 1970, is almost uninhabited. Since 1901 ship transport in summer is provided by the Millstättersee Shipping Company, which today runs four vessels.
Numerous brooks flow into the lake, of which the Riegerbach near Döbriach is the biggest. At the western end of the lake the short Seebach stream leads the water into the Lieser river, which itself is a tributary of the Drava. The oligotrophic lake with its deep basin has a large hypolimnic volume and meromictic waters, which are clear and reach drinking water quality. Fishery, especially for trout, had been a source of food and work for residents since ancient times. Today sport fishing and angling is quite common not only for trout but also for several genera of carps, for wels catfish, northern pike, zander, perch and the european eel.
[edit] Transportation
Lake Millstatt can be reached via the Spittal-Millstättersee railway station with passenger train service provided by the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB. The B98 Millstätter Straße highway runs along the northern shore of the lake, connecting it with the A10 Tauern Autobahn motorway from Salzburg to Villach (European route E55) at the Spittal/Millstättersee junction.
[edit] External links
Media related to Millstätter See at Wikimedia Commons
