Lake Balaton: Difference between revisions

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	'''Lake Balaton''' (]: ''Balaton'' (the name has ] origin); ]: ''Lacus Pelso''; ]: ''Plattensee''~~; ]: ''Blatno Jezero'' or Блатно Језеро~~; meaning approximately "muddy lake", probable ]), located in ], is the largest lake in ]. Since Hungary is landlocked, Lake Balaton is sometimes called the "Hungarian Sea". The ] provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized ] is the only outflow.		'''Lake Balaton''' (] ''Balaton'' (the name has probably ] origin); ] ''Lacus Pelso''; ] ''Plattensee''; meaning approximately "muddy lake", probable ]), located in ], is the largest lake in ]. Since Hungary is landlocked, Lake Balaton is sometimes called the "Hungarian Sea". The ] provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized ] is the only outflow.

	With a surface area of 592 ], Lake Balaton lies approximately at the coordinates {{coor dm\|46\|50\|N\|17\|44\|E}}, and has a length of 77 km and a width ranging from 4 to 14 km. The lake's surface is 104 m above sea level, and its depth varies up to 12.2 m (mean depth is 3.2 m).		With a surface area of 592 ], Lake Balaton lies approximately at the coordinates {{coor dm\|46\|50\|N\|17\|44\|E}}, and has a length of 77 km and a width ranging from 4 to 14 km. The lake's surface is 104 m above sea level, and its depth varies up to 12.2 m (mean depth is 3.2 m).

Revision as of 00:28, 9 October 2006

Lake Balaton
Coordinates	46°50′N 17°44′E / 46.833°N 17.733°E / 46.833; 17.733
Type
Primary inflows	Zala River
Primary outflows	Sió
Catchment area	5,181 km²
Basin countries	Hungary

Max. length	77 km
Max. width	14 km
Surface area	592 km²
Average depth	3.2m
Max. depth	12.2m
Water volume	1.9 km³
Shore length	236 km
Surface elevation	104.8 m

Settlements	See article
Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Balaton (Hungarian Balaton (the name has probably Celtic origin); Latin Lacus Pelso; German Plattensee; meaning approximately "muddy lake", probable origin of the name), located in Hungary, is the largest lake in Central Europe. Since Hungary is landlocked, Lake Balaton is sometimes called the "Hungarian Sea". The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized Sió is the only outflow.

With a surface area of 592 km², Lake Balaton lies approximately at the coordinates 46°50′N 17°44′E / 46.833°N 17.733°E / 46.833; 17.733, and has a length of 77 km and a width ranging from 4 to 14 km. The lake's surface is 104 m above sea level, and its depth varies up to 12.2 m (mean depth is 3.2 m).

Climate

Lake Balaton affects the local area precipitation. The area receives approximately two-three inches more precipitation. More cloudy days, less extreme temperatures, and more precipitation than most of Hungary are all because of Lake Balaton. The lake's surface freezes in winter.

Tourist information

High tourist season extends from June until the end of August. The average water temperature during the summer is 25° C, which makes bathing and swimming very enjoyable. Other tourist attractions include sailing, fishing and other water sports as well as visiting the countryside and hills; wineries on the north coast and night life on the south. The Tihany Peninsula is a historical district.

Although the peak season at the lake is summer, the lovers of Balaton think that it is also worth visiting the huge lake in winter, when you can go fishing in the ice-holes, or if the ice is thick enough, brave visitors can even skate, sledge or ice-sail on the lake.

Balaton is served by FlyBalaton Airport. There are scheduled flights from Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Zürich and London Stansted. The lake is also accessible via charter flights from Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Billund and Moscow.

Chief resorts include:

Badacsony - Balatonalmádi - Balatonboglár - Balatonfüred - Balatonlelle - Fonyód - Keszthely - Siófok - Tihany - Vonyarcvashegy

Towns and villages

North shore

From east to west:

Balatonfőkajár - Balatonakarattya - Balatonkenese - Balatonfűzfő - Balatonalmádi - Alsóörs - Paloznak - Csopak - Balatonfüred - Tihany - Aszófő - Örvényes - Balatonudvari - Fövenyes - Balatonakali - Zánka - Balatonszepezd - Szepezdfürdő - Révfülöp - Pálköve - Balatonrendes - Ábrahámhegy - Badacsonytomaj - Badacsonytördemic - Szigliget - Balatonederics - Balatongyörök - Vonyarcvashegy - Gyenesdiás - Keszthely

South shore

From east to west:

Balatonakarattya - Balatonaliga - Balatonvilágos - Sóstó - Szabadifürdo - Siófok - Széplak - Zamárdi - Szántód - Balatonföldvár - Balatonszárszó - Balatonszemes - Balatonlelle - Balatonboglár - Fonyód - Bélatelep - Balatonfenyves - Balatonmáriafürdő - Balatonkeresztúr - Balatonberény - Fenékpuszta

History

Operation Frühlingserwachen was conducted in the region of Lake Balaton in March 1945, being referred to as "the Lake Balaton Offensive" in many English histories of the Second World War. The battle was a German counterattack by Sepp Dietrich's 6.SS-Panzerarmee between March 6, 1945 and March 16, 1945 and resulted in a Red Army victory.

Trivia

Several Ilyushin Il-2 wrecks have been pulled out of the lake, remnants of the Soviet Air Force.

Hungarian government has started a campaign of promoting Balaton as a holiday place for young people. There is a controversial promotial cartoon on official Balaton tourist page. It contains a man who meets a young blonde girl and has sex with her on a boat while hiding his wedding ring