Lac de Joux

Underground drainage Nature Reservoir

The Lac de Joux is a lake in the Valley of the Vallée de Joux in the northwest of the canton of Vaud, in western Switzerland. It lies at an altitude of 1004 m above sea level. M. in the Vaud Jura and is the largest lake in the Jura Mountains. The deepest point of the lake floor is located on 972 m above sea level. Level, which corresponds to a sea depth of 32 m.

The 9 km long and on average 1 km wide lake extends from southwest to northeast and occupies the lower part of the Vallée de Joux one. It lies in a valley between the Jura chain of Mont Tendre in the southeast and the Risoux in the northwest. The conclusion in the northeast forms the Dent de Vaulion. The only tributary of Lac de Joux is the Orbe, which opens to the southwest. Otherwise only reach a few rivulets from the slopes of Mont Tendre chain of the lake. North of the Lac de Joux closes after 200 m wide land bridge from Le Pont at the 2 m below Brenet. With this, the Lac de Joux is indeed connected by a small stretch of water, but only a fraction of the brought up by the Orbe water discharges again. The rest of the excess water of the Lac de Joux seeps into the limestone bedrock of the lake floor and occurs only in the caves of Vallorbe ( Source de l' Orbe ) at Vallorbe light again.

The southeastern shore of Lac de Joux is relatively flat, in the region of the mouth of the river Orbe is a larger wetland. In the north- west of the lake is accompanied in its entire length from the hard rock rib Le Revers why one finds a very steep, up to 80 m high, sometimes rocky and rough shore here. At the south-eastern shore lie the town of L' Abbaye and the long-drawn street settlements Vers- chez- Grosjean and Les Bioux, on the northeastern shore of the village of Le Pont, all belonging to the political community L' Abbaye.

Because the lake is located in a fully enclosed high valley in which if the weather accumulates each freeze over in winter, it freezes even today in most winters completely. Then ice skating is possible on the large surface.

In earlier times was collected in winter on the frozen lake ice that was exported during the summer months, especially to France, but also to Germany. Customers were mostly hospitals, breweries and pubs.

Parallel to the north shore runs the railway line of the company Pont- Brassus train.

Gallery

View from Les Bioux from

On the banks of L' Abbaye

Le Pont

494740
de