Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva (French: lac Léman, le Léman[lemɑ̃], sometimes lac de Genève [lak d(ə) ʒ(ə)nɛːv], German: Genfersee [ˈɡɛnfərˌzeː]) is a 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. 59.53% (345.31 km2 [133.32 sq mi]) of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland (cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Valais), and 40.47% (234.71 km2 [90.62 sq mi]) under France (department of Haute-Savoie).
Lake Geneva has been explored by four submarines: the Auguste Piccard and the F.-A. Forel, both built by Jacques Piccard, and the two Mir submersibles.
Name
The first recorded name of the lake is Lacus Lemannus, dated from Roman times; Lemannus comes from Ancient greek Limanos, Limènos Limne Λιμένος Λίμνη 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 (translated into English as Lake Geneva). In the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French and is the customary name in that language. In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva is predominant.
A note on pronunciation:
