Lake Geneva Lake Geneva Lake Geneva ( or ' /, rarely ' ; ) is a lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. 59.53% () of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland (cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Valais), and 40.47% () under France (department of Haute-Savoie). Lake Geneva has been explored by four submarines: the "Auguste Piccard" and the "F.-A. Forel", both built by Jacques Piccard, and the two "Mir" submersibles. The first recorded name of
Geneva 15.7%. Of the agricultural land, 0.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is composed of lakes and 2.9% is rivers and streams. The altitude of Geneva is , and corresponds to the altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton, two large rocks emerging from the lake which date from the last ice age. This rock was chosen by General Guillaume Henri Dufour as the reference point for surveying in Switzerland. The second main river of Geneva is the Arve, which flows into the Rhône just west of the city centre. Mont Blanc