The lake has a complicated shape, with several sharp bends and four arms. The nine different parts of the lake have individual designations: •
Urnersee ("Lake of
Uri"): The first part of the lake, at the mouth of the Reuss between
Flüelen and
Brunnen. •
Gersauer Becken ("Basin of Gersau") next to
Gersau below the
Rigi massif is the deepest part of the lake. •
Buochser Bucht ("Bay of Buochs"): The bay of Bouchs, where the
Engelberger Aa enters the lake. •
Vitznauer Bucht ("Bay of Vitznau"): The part between the
Bürgenstock and Rigi. •
Alpnachersee ("Lake of Alpnach"): the almost separate, southern arm below the southern mountainside of
Pilatus near
Alpnach. •
Stanser Trichter ("Funnel of Stans"): The part north of the Pilatus, west of Bürgenstock, and in front of
Hergiswil and
Stansstad. •
Küssnachtersee ("Lake of Küssnacht"): The most northern arm, west of the Rigi with
Küssnacht SZ at its northern end. •
Chrütztrichter ("Cross Funnel"): The meeting point of
Stanser Trichter,
Luzernersee,
Küssnachtersee, and
Vitznauer Bucht. •
Luzernersee ("Lake of Lucerne"): in German usage now limited to the bay at Lucerne as far as Meggenhorn, with its effluence of the Reuss. Lake Lucerne starts in the south–north bound
Reuss Valley between steep cliffs above the
Urnersee from
Flüelen towards
Brunnen to the north before it makes a sharp bend to the west where it continues into the
Gersauer Becken. Here is also the deepest point of the lake with . Even further west of it is the
Buochser Bucht, but the lake sharply turns north again through the narrow opening between the
Unter Nas (lower nose) of the
Bürgenstock to the west and the
Ober Nas (upper nose) of the
Rigi to the east to reach the
Vitznauer Bucht. In front of
Vitznau below the Rigi the lake turns sharply west again to reach the center of a four-arm cross, called the
Chrütztrichter (Cross Funnel). Here converge the
Vitznauer Bucht with the
Küssnachtersee from the north, the
Luzernersee from the west, and the
Horwer Bucht and the
Stanser Trichter to the south, which is to be found right below the northeast side of the Pilatus and the west side of the Bürgenstock. At the very narrow pass between the east dropper of the
Pilatus (called
Lopper) and
Stansstad the lake reaches its southwestern arm at
Alpnachstad on the steep southern foothills of the Pilatus, the
Alpnachersee. The lake drains its water into the Reuss in
Lucerne from its arm called
Luzernersee (which literally translates as
Lake of Lucerne). The entire lake has a total area of 114 km2 (44 sq mi) at an elevation of a.s.l., and a maximum depth of . Its volume is 11.8 km3. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including those of the mountains Rigi and Pilatus. The Reuss enters the lake at Flüelen, in the part called
Urnersee (
Lake of Uri, in the
canton of Uri) and exits at Lucerne. The lake also receives the
Muota at Brunnen, the
Engelberger Aa at
Buochs, and the
Sarner Aa at Alpnachstad. It is possible to circumnavigate the lake by train and road, though the railway route circumvents the lake even on the north side of the Rigi via
Arth-Goldau. Since 1980, the
A2 motorway leads through the
Seelisberg Tunnel in order to reach the route to the
Gotthard Pass in just half an hour in
Altdorf, Uri right south of the beginning of the lake in Flüelen. Steamers and other passenger boats ply between the different villages and towns on the lake. It is a popular
tourist destination, both for native Swiss and foreigners, and there are many hotels and resorts along the shores. In addition, the meadow of the
Rütli, traditional site of the founding of the
Swiss Confederation, is on the
Urnersee shore. A 35 km commemorative walkway, the
Swiss Path, was built around the Lake of Uri to celebrate the country's 700th anniversary in 1991. Lake Lucerne borders on the three original Swiss
cantons of
Uri,
Schwyz, and
Unterwalden (which today is divided into the cantons of
Obwalden and
Nidwalden), as well as the
canton of Lucerne, thus the name
Vierwaldstättersee (lit.: Lake of the Four Forested Settlements). Many of the oldest communities of Switzerland are along the shore, including
Küssnacht,
Weggis,
Vitznau,
Gersau,
Brunnen,
Altdorf,
Buochs, and
Treib. in
Uri, southwards, with
Bauen on the left shore on the right Lake Lucerne is singularly irregular and appears to lie in four different valleys, all related to the conformation of the adjoining mountains. The central portion of the lake lies in two parallel valleys whose direction is from west to east, the one lying north, the other south of the ridge of the
Bürgenstock. These are connected through a narrow strait, scarcely one kilometre wide, between the two rocky promontories called respectively
Unter Nas and
Ober Nas (Lower and Upper Nose). It is not unlikely that the southern of these two divisions of the lake—called
Buochser Bucht—formerly extended to the west over the isthmus whereon stands the town of
Stans, thus forming an island of the Bürgenstock. The west end of the main branch of the lake, whence a comparatively shallow bay extends to the town of Lucerne, is intersected obliquely by a deep trench whose south-west end is occupied by the branch called
Alpnachersee, while the north-east branch forms the long arm of
Küssnacht,
Küssnachtersee. These both lie in the direct line of a valley that stretches with scarcely a break in between the
Uri Alps and the
Emmental Alps. At the eastern end of the Gersauer Becken, where the containing walls of the lake-valley are directed from east to west, it is joined at an acute angle by the arm of Uri, or the
Urnersee, lying in the northern prolongation of the deep cleft that gives a passage to the
Reuss, between the
Uri Alps and the
Glarus Alps. southwards The Urnersee occupies the northernmost and deep portion of the great cleft of the Reuss Valley, which has cut through the Alpine ranges from the
St Gotthard Pass to the neighbourhood of
Schwyz. From its eastern shore the mountains rise in almost bare walls of rock to a height of from above the water. The two highest summits are the
Fronalpstock and the
Rophaien (2078 m). Between them the steep glen or ravine of the
Riemenstaldener Tal descends to
Sisikon, the only village with
Flüelen right on the shore on that side of the Urnersee. On the opposite or western shore, the mountains attain still greater dimensions. The
Niederbauen Chulm is succeeded by the
Oberbauenstock, and farther south, above the ridge of the Scharti, appear the snowy peaks of the
Gitschen and the
Uri Rotstock (2,928 m). In the centre opens the Reuss Valley, backed by the rugged summits of the
Urner and
Glarner Alps. ==Settlements==