Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva ( , , rarely ; ; ; ) is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty per cent of the lake belongs to Switzerland (the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Valais) and forty per cent to France (the department of Haute-Savoie). Name While the exact origins of the name are unknown, the name was in use during the time of Julius Caesar. comes from Ancient Greek meaning "port's lake". It became Lacus Lausonius, although this name was also used for a town or district on the lake, Lacus Losanetes, and then the in the Middle Ages. Following the rise of Geneva it became (translated into English as Lake Geneva), but was the common name on all local maps and is the customary name in the French language. In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva has become predominant. Geography Lake Geneva is divided into three parts because of its different types of formation (sedimentation, tectonic folding, glacial erosion): ('Upper Lake'), the eastern part from the Rhône estuary to the line of Meillerie–Rivaz ('Large Lake'), the largest and deepest basin with the lake's largest width ('Small Lake'), the most south-west, narrower and less deep part from Yvoire–Promenthoux next Prangins to the exit in Geneva According to the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Swisstopo, designates that part of the , which lies within the cantonal borders of Geneva (excluding the cantonal exclave Céligny), so about from Versoix–Hermance to the Rhône outflow in Geneva.