Lake Zell is a small freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

 lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

. It takes its name from the city of Zell am See

Zell am See

Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region...

 which is located on a small delta

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

 protruding into the lake. The lake is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long and 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) wide. It is up to 69 metres deep and at an elevation of 750 metres above sea level.

The lake is fed by numerous small mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 streams in summer, but only one stream flows out of it into the river Salzach

Salzach

The Salzach is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Inn and is 225 kilometres in length.The river's name is derived from the German word Salz, meaning "salt". Until the 19th century shipping of salt down the river was an important part of the local economy...

. In winter the lake completely freezes and is used for winter sports. In summer the lake is used for pleasure boating (boats powered by combustion engines are not allowed except for the ferries which cross the width of the lake from Zell to Thumersbach, so "elektroboots" can be hired instead). The water is very clear and suitable for swimming or diving, but can be chilly.

The southern end of the lake, near Schüttdorf

Schüttdorf

The city district Zell am See-Süd , official Schüttdorf, is at approximately 5400 residents of the populous part of the district capital Zell am See.- Present and future :The Prof...

, is shallower and mostly filled with water weed, making it unsuitable for boating or swimming.