Lake Lucerne. Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. The lake has a complicated shape, with several sharp bends and four arms. It starts in the south-north bound Reuss Valley between steep cliffs above the Urnersee from Flüelen towards Brunnen to the north before it makes a sharp bend to the west where it continues into the Gersauer Becken. Here is also the deepest point of the lake with 214 m. Even more west of it is the Buochser Bucht, but the lake sharply turns north again through the narrow opening between the Unter Nas of the Bürgenstock to the west and the Ober Nas of the Rigi to the east to reach the Vitznauer Bucht. In front of Vitznau below the Rigi the lake turns sharply west again to reach the center of a four-arm cross, called the Chrütztrichter. Here converge the Vitznauer Bucht with the Küssnachtersee from the north, the Luzernersee from the west, and the Horwer Bucht and the Stanser Trichter to the south, which is to be found right below the northeast side of the Pilatus and the west side of the Bürgenstock. At the very narrow pass between the east dropper of the Pilatus and Stansstad the lake reaches its southwestern arm at Alpnachstad on the steep southern foothills of the Pilatus, the Alpnachersee. The lake drains its water into the Reuss in Lucerne from its arm called Luzernersee. The entire lake has a total area of 114 km² at an elevation of 434 m a.s.l., and a maximum depth of 214 m. Its volume is 11.8 km³. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including those of the mountains Rigi and Pilatus. The Reuss enters the lake at Flüelen, in the part called Urnersee and exits at Lucerne. The lake also receives the Muota at Brunnen, the Engelberger Aa at Buochs, and the Sarner Aa at Alpnachstad. It is possible to circumnavigate the lake by train and road, though the railway route circumvents the lake even on the north side of the Rigi via Arth-Goldau. Since 1980, the A2 motorway leads through the Seelisberg Tunnel in order to reach the route to the Gotthard Pass in just half an hour in Altdorf, Uri right south of the beginning of the lake in Flüelen. Steamers and other passenger boats ply between the different villages and towns on the lake. It is a popular tourist destination, both for native Swiss and foreigners, and there are many hotels and resorts along the shores. In addition, the meadow of the Rütli, traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation, is on the Urnersee shore. A 35 km commemorative walkway, the Swiss Path, was built around the Lake of Uri to celebrate the country's 700th anniversary in 1991. The name of Vierwaldstättersee is first used in the 16th century.The Waldstätte since the 14th century were the confederate allies of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. The notion of Four Waldstätten, with the addition of the canton of Lucerne, is first recorded in the 1450s, in an addition to the Silver Book of Egloff Etterlin of Lucerne. Each part of the lake has it own designation: Urnersee: The first part of the lake, at the mouth of the Reuss between Flüelen and Brunnen. Gersauer Becken: In front of Gersau below the Rigi massif, the deepest part. Buochser Bucht: The bay of Bouchs, where the Engelberger Aa enters the lake. Vitznauer Bucht: The part between the Bürgenstock and Rigi. Küssnachtersee: The most northern arm, west of the Rigi with Küssnacht SZ at its northern end. Alpnachersee: the almost separate, southern arm below the southern mountainside of Pilatus near Alpnach. Horwer Bucht: The bay in front of Horw. Stanser Trichter: The part north of the Pilatus, west of Bürgenstock, and in front of Hergiswil and Stansstad. Chrütztrichter: The meeting point of Stanser Trichter, Luzernersee, Küssnachtersee, and Vitznauer Bucht. Luzernersee: Only the bay in front of Luzern as far as Meggenhorn, with its effluence of the Reuss, is called Lake of Lucerne in original language German, not the whole lake. Lake Lucerne borders on the three original Swiss cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, as well as the canton of Lucerne, thus the name Vierwaldstättersee. Many of the oldest communities of Switzerland are along the shore, including Küssnacht, Weggis, Vitznau, Gersau, Brunnen, Altdorf, Buochs, and Treib. Lake Lucerne is singularly irregular and appears to lie in four different valleys, all related to the conformation of the adjoining mountains.