Lake Thun [Explore 2011-08-20 #230]

Stunning sunset over Lake Thun.

 

Taken from a boat's landing place in Merligen. The striking mountain on the left is the Niesen and in the middle you see the Stockhorn.

 

This is my very first shot with neutral density filters. I always admired those long exposures pics with the smooth and silky water. The result is acceptable but still in need of improvement...

 

Lake Thun (German: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. It took its name from the city of Thun, on its northern shore.

 

Lake Thun's approximately 2,500 km² large catchment area frequently causes local flooding after heavy rainfalls. This occurs because the river Aar (German: Aare), which drains Lake Thun, has only limited capacity to handle the excess runoff.

 

The lake is fed by water from Lake Brienz to the south east, which lies 6 metres higher than Lake Thun, and various streams in the Oberland, including the Kander (only since 1714). Lake Thun was created after the last ice age and was originally part of Lake Brienz. The historic combined lake is called Wendelsee by geologists and historians.

 

Fishing is important enough to keep a handful of professional fishers employed. In 2001 the total catch was 53,000 kg. Since 1835 passenger ships have operated on the lake. There are ten passenger ships in total, operated by the local railway company BLS Lötschbergbahn.

 

The Niesen is a mountain, located in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, overlooking Lake Thun and is often called the Swiss Pyramid.

The summit of the mountain (2362 metres) can be reached easily with a funicular from Mülenen (near Reichenbach). The construction of the Niesenbahn funicular was completed in 1910. Alongside the path of the Niesenbahn is the longest stairway in the world with 11,674 steps. It is open only once a year to the public for a stair run.

The Niesen was the subject of a number of paintings by Paul Klee, in which it was represented as a quasi-pyramid.

 

The Stockhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, above the town of Erlenbach in Simmetal.

The Stockhorn is 2190 m high and is accessible via cable car and/or walking during 3 hours 30 minutes from the Oberstockensee. It has a restaurant at the top and is a good starting point for many hikes. There is good fishing in the two lakes right below the Stockhorn, the Oberstockensee(around 1650 m high and the Hinterstockensee ( around 1550 m high). There is a subterraneous water connection bettween the two lakes.

From the top you may enjoy, in a sunny day, a marvellous, unbelievable Panorama or sight with all the main summit of the Alps, the Eiger, Monk, Jungfrau, Diableretes and Mont Blanch,among them, the, the valley of the Aare river, Thun the Poral of the Alps,the Thunesee, the city of Interlaken and the Jura Region.

[Source: Wikipedia]

 

Canon EOS 60D

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

Aperture: f/22

Exposure time: 20 seconds

Focal length: 10 mm

ISO Speed 100

Tokina ND4 and ND8 Filter

Processed with PS CS5

Done