Flachsee

Nature reserve

The shallow lake is about 1.4 km long southern part of the dam on the river Reuss in the canton of Aargau. He is with its 72 hectares of the second largest lake which lies entirely in the canton of Aargau.

Location

The lake lies at an altitude of 378 m above sea level. M. Reuss level, about 4 km south of Bremgarten. It extends from the Reussbrücke Rottenschwil to the hamlet Geisshof (municipality Unterlunkhofen ), is up to 300 meters wide with extensive wetlands. In the middle of the lake there are five small islands. Through this area was once the Reuss meanders in many turns. The backwaters in Rottenschwiler moss southwest of the shallow lake interpret the former river turns to yet. Along the west bank runs a flood control dam. On the east bank there is a broad belt of reeds.

Development and use of

Through the construction of the hydropower plant at Emaus Zufikon created in 1975 by damming the River Reuss, a five-kilometer long reservoir, which presents the ecological peculiarities ago in the south than shallow lake in the north than the river. Human intervention enabled the emergence of a large breeding area for around 50 species of birds (such as the ringed plover ) and also a habitat for rare plants (eg, standing on the Red List Big Sweet Grass), which is under protection. Over the years, over 240 species of birds have been registered in the shallow seas, including, for example, gray herons, cormorants or ausgewilderte gray geese. Also, a family of beavers has settled again.

The region is widely known as a recreational area. At the hamlet Geisshof you can set in the summer months with a ferry across the river. At the south end of the lake, between Rottenschwil and Unterlunkhofen, spanning a - now under monument protection - steel arch bridge (built in the late 19th century) the lake. The passing of the nature reserve with the dinghy is possible taking into account certain constraints.

Swell

• Hans -Peter Widmer: Clubtail and orchid. The natural and cultural landscape Reuss Valley, ed. by the Foundation Reusstal, Rottenschwil 2007.