A deep green Alpine lake beneath the village of Hallstatt, one of Europe's oldest inhabited places.
Surface area
8 km²
Maximum depth
about 125 m
Elevation
508 m
Continent
Europe
Countries
Austria
Did you know?
The salt mines above Hallstatt have been worked for over 7,000 years, giving an entire prehistoric era its name.
Little-known fact
The village is so picturesque that a full-scale replica of it was built in China.
Highlights
- A jewel of the Austrian Alps
- Above 7,000-year-old salt mines
- Copied wholesale in China
Life in the Lake Hallstatt (Hallstätter See)
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Waterbirds
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Mute swan
The great white swan of European waters, gliding in pairs that often mate for life.
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Interactive · 3D dive
How deep does a lake go?
A lake is layered from the sunlit, weed-filled shallows down to a cold, dark bed. Tap a zone to dive the submersible through the water column — and meet the life that belongs at each depth.
Tip: hover the column to tilt it · tap a layer to dive
Littoral Zone
The warm, bright band close to shore where sunlight reaches the bottom. Reeds, water lilies and rooted plants grow thickly here, making it the busiest, most crowded part of the whole lake.
Who lives here