Lac des Taillères

Underground drainage

The Lac des Taillères is a medium-sized lake in the canton of Neuchâtel in western Switzerland. He is apart from Lake Neuchâtel, the largest lake in the canton.

Location

The lake is located at 1,036 m above sea level. M. in the Vallée de la Brevine in the Neuchâtel Jura, near the border with France. The narrow but long lake extends in the direction west - southwest -northeast, according to the course of the Jura chains in this area. Its dimensions amount to 1.9 km in length and 250 meters in width. The Lac des Taillères occupies the deepest trough of the valley of La Brevine. Its southern shore rises quite steeply to the neighboring Jura ridge, while the north shore is relatively flat, and the rise to the chain of Larmont begins only 1 km from the lake. In this plane, scattered north of the lake are some farmhouses that bear the name Les Taillères.

The lake is fed by rainwater, small rivulets and individual sources in the lake itself; there are no major aboveground accruing Bach. Also the drainage happens underground. The water seeps into the porous limestone lake bottom, passes through a cave system and occurs 6 km south and 200 m deep in the karst source of Areuse to light again.

Use

Because the Lac des Taillères has only a small depth, it freezes in the winter very quickly and is therefore in the winter is a popular destination for skaters.