Lake Balaton
Landsat satellite photo
Location	Hungary
Coordinates	46°50′N 17°44′ECoordinates: 46°50′N 17°44′E
Lake type	Rift lake
Primary sources	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 length1	236 km
Surface elevation	104.8 m
Settlements	see article
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Balaton, 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. It has also been referred to as "Europe's biggest puddle". This harsh, but accurate description of the body of water is based on the shallowness of its waters. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 233 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. ... The Zala is a river in south-western Hungary. ... Sió is a river in central Hungary. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... The Zala is a river in south-western Hungary. ... Sió is a river in central Hungary. ...

With a surface area of 592 km², Lake Balaton lies approximately on the coordinates 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). Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

Name

In Hungarian, the lake is known as Balaton; in Latin as Lacus Pelso, in German as Plattensee, in Slovak as Blatenské jazero and in Serbian as Blatno Jezero or Блатно Језеро. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Serbian (српски језик; srpski jezik) is one of the standard versions of the Shtokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and by Serbs in the Serbian diaspora. ...

Its name means approximately "muddy lake" in Slavic ("blato" means "mud" in South-Slavic from earlier Pan-Slavic "bolto"). The Hungarian name Balaton, is also derived from the original Slavic name (Slavic neutrum adjective "boltьno(-je ezero)" = "muddy (lake)"), but it has no concrete meaning today in Hungarian.

The Romans called the lake Lacus Pelso, that is to say shallow lake in the Latin language. Germanic peoples that have been living in the area through the centuries called it Plattensee, with the same meaning as in Latin. Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The term Germanic peoples may refer to: the Germanic tribes that in the first millennium were seen as a barbarian threat by the Roman Empire and its successors; the Germanic Christianity that in the second millennium came to dominate much of Northern Europe, politically organized in the Holy Roman Empire...

Climate

Lake Balaton affects the local area precipitation. The area receives approximately two-three [or more] 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 colder winter.

Tourist information

The 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 possible. People used to sandy beaches and salt water shores will compare Balaton's shores unfavourably, as the "beaches" that exist consist of silty mud. 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 shore. The Tihany Peninsula is an historical district. Tihany is a village on the northern shore of Lake Balaton on the Tihany Peninsula. ...

Although the peak season at the lake is the summer, lovers of Balaton think that it is also worth visiting the lake in winter, when you can go fishing through 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 Sármellék International Airport [1]. There are scheduled flights from Berlin, Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Zürich and London Stansted. The lake is also accessible via charter flights from Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Billund and Moscow. Sármellék International Airport (Hungarian: Sármellék Nemzetközi RepülÅ‘tér) (IATA: SOB, ICAO: LHSM), also known as FlyBalaton Airport, is an international airport in Hungary, located west of the Lake Balaton, at the village of Sármellék, Zala county, near Keszthely (, ). Its importance is... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... City Center seen from Weinsteige Road Stuttgart Palace Square - New Palace Solitude Palace The 1956 TV Tower U.S. Army Kelley Barracks Stuttgart [], located in southern Germany, is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of 591,528 (as of April 2006) in the city... Copenhagen (IPA: or ; Danish: IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city. ... View of the inner city with the four main churches visible, and the Albis in the backdrop Zürich (German: , Zürich German: Züri , French: , in English generally Zurich, Italian: ) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and... Terminal building, designed by Sir Norman Foster Stansted Airport is a medium-sized passenger airport with a single runway, located in the English county of Essex about thirty miles north of London. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ... Location Coordinates Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DE6 First Mayor Ole von Beust (CDU) Governing party CDU Votes in Bundesrat 3 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  755 km² (292 sq mi) Population 1,754,317 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 2,324 /km² (6,018... Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and (together with Cologne and the Ruhr Area) the economic center of Western Germany. ... Billund is a municipality in the center of the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark, in the county of Ribe. ... Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government  - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area  - City 1,081 km²  (417. ...

Chief resorts include:

Badacsony - Balatonalmádi - Balatonboglár - Balatonfüred - Balatonlelle - Fonyód - Keszthely - Siófok - Tihany - Vonyarcvashegy Badacsony is a town on the north shore of Lake Balaton in western Hungary, regarded by many, together with its surrounding landscape, as the most beautiful area in the country. ... Balatonalmádi, a town of 8,500 inhabitants, is a popular resort town near the northeast corner of Lake Balaton, in Hungary. ... Balatonboglár, with 6,200 inhabitants, is the professional centre of the Balatonboglár Wine Region, and is often called the town of grapes and wine, the professional centre of the Balatonboglár Wine Region. ... Balatonfüred is a popular resort town in Hungary with a population of thirteen thousand, situated on the north shore of Lake Balaton. ... Balatonlelle is a popular tourist town located on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, about 35 km west of Siófok. ... Fonyód is a town and holiday resort on the south shore of Lake Balaton, in north-west Somogy, western Hungary, with over 5000 residents. ... Keszthely [] is an Hungarian town with 23. ... Siófok is a town in Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton in Somogy County. ... Tihany is a village on the northern shore of Lake Balaton on the Tihany Peninsula. ... Vonyarcvashegy is a town and tourist resort on the north shore of Lake Balaton, in western Hungary. ...

Lake Balaton by train and boats

The Balaton Mix ticket offers you unlimited travel opportunity by train around the lake and by boats on the period of the validity. You can buy it at train stations and harbours. more information

Towns and villages

Towns and villages alongside Lake Balaton.

Image File history File links Balaton. ... Image File history File links Balaton. ...

North shore

From east to west:

Balatonfőkajár - Balatonakarattya - Balatonkenese - Balatonfűzfő - Balatonalmádi - Alsóörs - Paloznak - Csopak - Arács - Balatonfüred - Tihany - Aszófő - Örvényes - Balatonudvari - Fövenyes - Balatonakali - Zánka - Balatonszepezd - Szepezdfürdő - Révfülöp - Pálköve - Ábrahámhegy - Balatonrendes - Badacsonytomaj - Badacsony - Badacsonytördemic - Szigliget - Balatonederics - Balatongyörök - Vonyarcvashegy - Gyenesdiás - Keszthely BalatonfÅ‘kajár is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonkenese is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... BalatonfűzfÅ‘ is a town placed at the northeast corner of Lake Balaton in Hungary. ... Balatonalmádi, a town of 8,500 inhabitants, is a popular resort town near the northeast corner of Lake Balaton, in Hungary. ... Alsóörs is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Paloznak is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Csopak is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonfüred is a popular resort town in Hungary with a population of thirteen thousand, situated on the north shore of Lake Balaton. ... Tihany is a village on the northern shore of Lake Balaton on the Tihany Peninsula. ... AszófÅ‘ is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Örvényes is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonudvari is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonakali is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Zánka is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonszepezd is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Révfülöp is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Ábrahámhegy is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonrendes (which translates to Balatonnormal) is a village in Hungary on the north shore of Lake Balaton. ... Badacsonytomaj with 2,300 inhabitants can be found at the eastern foot of the vulcanic Badacsony-hill, at Lake Balaton, Hungary. ... Badacsony is a town on the north shore of Lake Balaton in western Hungary, regarded by many, together with its surrounding landscape, as the most beautiful area in the country. ... Badacsonytördemic is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Szigliget is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Balatonederics is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Vonyarcvashegy is a town and tourist resort on the north shore of Lake Balaton, in western Hungary. ... Keszthely [] is an Hungarian town with 23. ...

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 Balatonvilágos is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary. ... Siófok is a town in Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton in Somogy County. ... Zamárdi is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Szántód is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Balatonföldvár is a town in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Balatonszárszó is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Balatonszemes is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Balatonlelle is a popular tourist town located on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, about 35 km west of Siófok. ... Balatonboglár, with 6,200 inhabitants, is the professional centre of the Balatonboglár Wine Region, and is often called the town of grapes and wine, the professional centre of the Balatonboglár Wine Region. ... Fonyód is a town and holiday resort on the south shore of Lake Balaton, in north-west Somogy, western Hungary, with over 5000 residents. ... Balatonfenyves is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... BalatonmáriafürdÅ‘ is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Balatonkeresztúr is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ... Balatonberény is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. ...

History and Trivia

• 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.

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

Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Josef Dietrich (6. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich Josef Sepp Dietrich also known as Ujac (May 28, 1892–April 21/22, 1966) was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the closest men to Hitler. ... The Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik (Russian: ) was a ground attack aircraft of World War II, and was produced by the Soviet Union in huge numbers; in combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 36,163 were built. ... The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily), formed the official designation of the air force of the Soviet Union. ...

See also

• Geography of Hungary

Map of Hungary Satellite image of Hungary in December 2002 Map of Lake Balaton With a land area of 92,103 square kilometers, Hungary is a country in Central Europe roughly the size of Portugal or the U.S. state of Indiana. ...

Gallery

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 312 KB) Summary Balaton, Stako, July 2003 Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lake Lake Balaton User:Em3rald/User/Experimenting Metadata This file contains additional... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 315 KB) Summary Balaton, Stako, July 2003 Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lake Balaton Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 321 KB) Summary Balaton. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 324 KB) Summary Balaton. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x750, 319 KB) Beschreibung: Lake Balaton, Hungary, covered in snow Quelle: own photography Fotograf oder Zeichner: Jan Helms, Germany Datum: January 29th, 2004. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 744 KB) en: Lake Balaton in Hungart - photographed by de:user:Flotti from a train de: Plattensee in Ungarn - selbst fotografiert aus einem fahrenden Zug sk: Jazero Balaton v Maďarsku - fortené z idúceho vlaku photo taken by de... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 3. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Balaton

• Balaton informational Web site (Hungarian, German, English)
• Tourist Information (English)
• Guide to the Balaton
• Tourist Information with photos - OHB (English)
• A picture gallery
• Balaton - World Lake Database (English)