Gosauseen are three

lakes A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

in the south-western,

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

part of

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

. They are situated near the town of

Gosau Gosau is a municipality in the district of Gmunden in Upper Austria, Austria. Location Gosau is situated along the Gosaubach stream in the Salzkammergut region. The center of the town is at an elevation of 767m (2,516'). 58.9% of the municipalit ...

, which is close to

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. The mountains that encircle the lakes are called the

Dachstein Mountains The Dachstein Mountains (german: Dachsteingebirge) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps. The term is used by the Austrian Alpine Club in its classification of the Eastern Alps as one of the 24 sub-ranges of the Northern Limestone A ...

, whose

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

partially shaped the landforms and still influence the

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

of the area.

Vorderer Gosausee

This is the biggest of the three lakes. It has an

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

at its more accessible end.

Gosaulacke

This water is the middle of three lakes, where the other two are called the outer and the inner ''Gosausee''. The word ''See'' means lake, while the word ''Lacke'' (''puddle'') means a shallow water body with considerable changes of surface level (

intermittent lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

), even sometimes falling dry, as it can be observed for example with a

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

. In the case of Gosaulacke, rain and water from thawing snow feed the lake. Its main inflow comes from the medium-sized inner lake and the main outflow feeds the much larger outer lake.

Hinterer Gosausee

This is the most remote and middle sized lake in the series. Lakes of Upper Austria {{UpperAustria-geo-stub