Lake Vänern

Lake Vänern, Sweden's largest lake (area 5,546sq.km/2,170sq.mi), lies in a tectonic basin in the south of the country, northwest of the road from Göteborg to Örebro. The lake is divided into two parts, Stora Vänern to the northeast and the Dalbosjö to the southwest, by two peninsulas, Värmlandsnäs and Kållandshalvö, the island of Kållandsö, off the Kållandshalvö, and a number of smaller islands. Since the country around the lake is considerably lower the water level is falling at the rate of about 8cm/5in each century.

There were plans for regulating the lake and the associated waterways from the 16th century onwards, but it was only in 1938 that regulatory measures were carried out. There is now heavy shipping traffic on the lake, largely because of the link it provides between the Kattegat and the Baltic by way of Trollhättan and the Göta Canal.