Lake Balaton
Location	Hungary
Coordinates	46°50′N 17°44′E
Lake type	Rift lake
Primary inflows	Zala River
Primary outflows	Sió
Catchment area	5,181 km²
Basin countries	Hungary
Max. A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the In Hydrology, the inflow of a Body of water is the source of the Water in the body of water The Zala is a River in south-western Hungary. Its source is in the hills on the borders with Austria and Slovenia. In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time Sió is an artificial channel in central Hungary. It is the outlet of Lake Balaton. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, length	77 km
Max. width	14 km
Surface area	592 km²
Average depth	3. 2 m
Max. depth	12. 2 m
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^[1], and a popular regional tourist destination. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Due to Hungary being landlocked, it is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea". The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized Sió is the only outflow. The Zala is a River in south-western Hungary. Its source is in the hills on the borders with Austria and Slovenia. Sió is an artificial channel in central Hungary. It is the outlet of Lake Balaton. With a surface area of 592 km² has a length of 77 km and a width ranging from 4 to 14 km. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 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).

Contents 1 Name 2 Climate 3 Tourist information 4 Trivia 5 Towns and villages 5.1 North shore 5.2 South shore 6 See also 7 References 8 Gallery 9 External links

Name

In Hungarian, the lake is known as Balaton (nicknamed Balcsi, and sometimes "The Hungarian Sea"); in Latin as Lacus Pelso, in German as Plattensee, in Slovak as Blatenské jazero and in Croatian and Serbian as Blatno Jezero. Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" Croatian language ( hrvatski jezik) is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in neighbouring Serbian (sr-Cyrl српски језик sr-Latn ''srpski jezik'' is a South Slavic language,

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. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Germanic peoples that have been living in the area through the centuries called it Plattensee, with the same meaning as in Latin. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic

Climate

Lake Balaton affects the local area precipitation per annum. The area receives approximately two to three inches (5-7 cm) more precipitation than most of Hungary, resulting in more cloudy days, and less extreme temperatures. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The lake's surface freezes during colder winters.

The Lake Balaton region's climate has also made it ideal for growing grapes to make wine. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Secondary radiation is emitted from the lake doubling the amount of sunlight that the grapes vines of the region receive. Radiation, as in Physics, is Energy in the form of waves or moving Subatomic particles emitted by an atom or other body as it changes from a higher energy The Mediterranean climate combined with the soil (containing volcanic rock) has made the region notable for its production of wines since the Roman period two thousand years ago. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial [1]

Tourist information

The major resorts around the lake are Siófok, Keszthely and Balatonfüred. Siófok is a town in Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton in Somogy County Keszthely (Kestel Monoštor is a Hungarian town of 23000 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. Balatonfüred is a popular resort town in Veszprém county in Hungary with a population of thirteen thousand situated on the north shore of Lake Balaton Siófok is known often as the "Party Capital of Hungary", which attracts many young party goers in summer due to its numerous large discos. Keszthely is the site of the famous Festetics Palace and Balatonfüred is a historical bathing town home to the annual Anna Ball. The Festetics Palace is a Baroque Palace located in the town of Keszthely, Zala county, Hungary.

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. Most of the beaches consist of either grass, rocks or the silty sand that also makes up most of the bottom of the lake. Many resorts have artificial sandy beaches and all beaches have step access to the water. 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 ( Hungary, Veszprém County Badacsony is a famous volcanic mountain and wine growing region as well as a lakeside resort. Badacsony is the name of a region on the north shore of Lake Balaton in western Hungary, and a town in that region

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 [2]. Sármellék International Airport ( Hungarian: Sármellék Nemzetközi Repülőtér), also known as FlyBalaton Airport, is an international airport There are scheduled flights from Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Zürich and London Stansted. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Stuttgart (ˈʃtʊtgaɐ̯t is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the London Stansted Airport is a passenger Airport located in the Uttlesford District of the English County of Essex about 38 miles (61 The lake is also accessible via charter flights from Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Billund and Moscow. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Düsseldorf (ˈdʏsəldɔɐf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Billund is a municipality ( Danish, kommune) in Region Syddanmark in the center of the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of

Chief resorts include:

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

Trivia

• The Hungarian government has started a campaign of promoting Balaton as a holiday place for young people. Badacsony is the name of a region on the north shore of Lake Balaton in western Hungary, and a town in that region Balatonalmádi, a town of 8500 inhabitants is a popular resort town near the northeast corner of Lake Balaton, in Hungary. Balatonboglár, in Hungary, is a Resort town situated on the south shore of Lake Balaton. Balatonfüred is a popular resort town in Veszprém county 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 (Kestel Monoštor is a Hungarian town of 23000 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. 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 ( Hungary, Veszprém County Vonyarcvashegy is a town and tourist resort on the north shore of Lake Balaton, in western Hungary. There is a slightly controversial promotional cartoon on the official Balaton tourist page depicting a man who meets a young blonde girl and makes love to her on a boat while hiding his wedding ring. ^[2]

• Operation Frühlingserwachen was conducted in the region of Lake Balaton in March 1945, being referred to as "the Lake Balaton Offensive" in many British histories of the Second World War. Operation Spring Awakening ( Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) ( 6 March 1945 &ndash 16 March 1945) was the last major German offensive World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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. Josef "Sepp" Dietrich ( May 28, 1892 –April 21/22 1966 was a German Waffen-SS general an SS-Oberstgruppenführer The 6th Panzer Army (6Panzer-Armee was a unit of Wehrmacht Heer, formed in the Autumn of 1944

• Several Ilyushin Il-2 wrecks have been pulled out of the lake, remnants of the Soviet Air Force. The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы ( Voenno-Vozdushnye

Towns and villages

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

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

See also

• Geography of Hungary

References

Gallery

External links

• A picture gallery
• Balaton - World Lake Database (English)
• Pictures of Balatongyörök - Pictures of Balatongyörök
• Lake Balaton on SeeUinHungary.com

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