Lago Ritom

Lago Ritom
Lago Ritom Show map of Canton of Ticino Lago Ritom Show map of Switzerland Lago Ritom Show map of Alps
Location	Piora Valley, Ticino
Coordinates	46°32′24″N8°41′21″E / 46.54000°N 8.68917°E / 46.54000; 8.68917
Type	reservoir, natural lake
Basin  countries	Switzerland
Surface area	1.49 km2 (0.58 sq mi)
Max. depth	69 m (226 ft)
Water volume	48 million cubic metres (39,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation	1,850 m (6,070 ft)

Lago Ritom is a lake in the Piora valley, Ticino, Switzerland. The natural lake is used as a reservoir by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) to generate hydro-electric power for the Gotthard line. The first dam was built in 1918 and, in 1950, its height was increased by 23 m.

Overview

The lake's surface area is 1.49 km² at an elevation of 1850 m. With Lake Cadagno and Lago di Tom, it is one of the main lakes in the Piora valley.

Before being used as a reservoir, Lake Ritom was a meromictic lake similar to the nearby Lake Cadagno.

Transport

See also: Ritom funicular

The lake can be reached by funicular from Piotta 786 m below. The track with a length of 1,369 m has a maximum inclination of 87.8%, ^[1] the highest in Europe after the Gelmerbahn funicular (106%).

See also

• List of lakes of Switzerland
• List of mountain lakes of Switzerland

References

1. (in Italian) History of Ritom funicular Archived 2014-01-14 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Lago Ritom Archived 2015-08-01 at the Wayback Machine - tourist information
• Ritom funicular Archived 2014-01-14 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian and German)
• Ritom's waters power the Gotthard Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine