Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva 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 and forty per cent to France .

While the exact origins of the name are unknown, the name Lacus Lemanus was in use during the time of Julius Caesar. Lemannus comes from Ancient Greek Liménos Límnē 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 Lac de Lausanne in the Middle Ages. Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève , but Le Léman 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.

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