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Lai da Sontga Maria (Italian: ''Lago di Santa Maria'') is a
lake, located north of the
Lukmanier Pass in
Switzerland. It lies almost entirely in the municipality of
Medel (canton of
Graubünden), a tiny fraction of the south-west part of the lake belonging to the municipalities of
Quinto and
Blenio
Blenio is a municipality of the district of Blenio, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
Blenio was created on 22 October 2006 when it incorporated the formerly autonomous municipalities of Aquila, Campo Blenio, Ghirone, Olivone and Torre of ...
(canton of
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
). The
reservoir has a surface area is . The
arch dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...
Santa Maria, which is to the north of the lake, was completed in 1968. The main road of the Lukmanier Pass runs along the eastern shore of the lake.
The lake lies at a height of 1,908 metres above sea level and is surrounded by mountains over 3,000 metres on both sides. The highest peak overlooking Lai da Sontga Maria is the
Scopi (3,190 m), on the east side. On the west side are
Piz Gannaretsch
Piz Gannaretsch is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps, overlooking Sedrun in Graubünden. At 3,040 metres above sea level, its summit is the highest point of the range lying between St Gotthard Pass
german: Gotthardpass
, photo = File:Gotthard ...
(3,040 m) and
Piz Rondadura (3,016 m). On the south side (in Ticino), the lake is overlooked by
Pizzo dell'Uomo (2,663 m). The lake is drained by the Rein da Medel, a tributary of the
Anterior Rhine
The Vorderrhein ( German; English: ''Anterior Rhine''; Sursilvan: ; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Anteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Anteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn anteriour'') is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment a ...
.
[ Swisstopo topographic maps]
In the lake, there is an anchor pylon of
Lukmanier Powerline.
See also
*
List of lakes of Switzerland
*
List of mountain lakes of Switzerland
References
*
Swisstopo topographic maps
External links
*
Sontga Maria
Sontga Maria
Medel (Lucmagn)
Sontga Maria
Graubünden–Ticino border
LLaidaSontgaMaria
{{Ticino-lake-stub