Lago di Ghirla is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

at Valganna in the

Province of Varese The province of Varese () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese (population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is Busto Arsizio. The headquarters of AgustaWestland, the compa ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Geography

Ghirla Lake is at 442

metres above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

. Its affluent is river

Margorabbia The Margorabbia is the river (Stream#Intermittent and ephemeral streams, intermittent stream) of Valtravaglia, a valley in the province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is a tributary of the Tresa which it joins a few hundred metres upstream of La ...

which is a subterranean river coming from Lake Ganna. Its maximal depth is 14 m (46 ft). Its surface covers an area of 0,28 km²

Location

The Ghirla Lake is located under

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

of Valganna and the highway strada statale 233 varesina passes near his Eastern side. The Lake is also comprised in the Cinque Vette Park

Climate

The climate is continental because the lake is in a prealpine valley : temperatures go far below 0 °C in

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

and in summer the water temperature is about 20°C.

History

There are some important dates related to Lago di Ghirla: *

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

: the level of the lake was raised because of the construction of a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

which enabled the production of

electrical energy Electrical energy is the energy transferred as electric charges move between points with different electric potential, that is, as they move across a voltage, potential difference. As electric potential is lost or gained, work is done changing the ...

thanks to a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

: the "Campionato Nazionale di pattinaggio di velocità", a national competition based on

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

, was disputed for the first time on the surface of this lake.

References

Ghirla Province of Varese {{lombardy-geo-stub