Balaton

Balaton, LAKE (Ger. Platten-See), the largest lake in Hungary, 55 miles SW. of Pesth. Lying 426 feet above sea-level, it is 48 miles long, and 10 broad, with an area of 245 sq. m., depth from 20 to 150 feet. It is fed by upwards of thirty streams—the chief of which is the Szala—as well as by numerous springs which rise on its margin. Its outlet is by the Sio, which discharges itself into the Sarvitz, a feeder of the Danube. The waters of Balaton are clear and transparent, except when they are agitated by a storm, when they assume a bluish colour. They have a slightly brackish taste. Fish of various kinds are found in abundance, including the fogash, a kind of large perch, weighing from 10 to 20 pounds, and found only in this lake. The lake figures prominently in the old romantic ballads of the Magyars.