Lakes of Neuchâtel 2026: 7, three shared with France
On the Doubs, the border itself forms the lakes: the Lac des Brenets, Lac de Moron and Lac de Biaufond lie partly in Switzerland and partly in France. Entirely within Neuchâtel is the Lac des Taillères, at 1036 m.
Number of lakes in Neuchâtel: 7
7 lakes of half a hectare or more, and yet the national map shows 163 bodies of standing water in Neuchâtel. The gap is not imprecision; it is a way of counting.
- 1163 water surfaces appear in swisstopo's landscape model for the canton.
- 218 of them are at least half a hectare (5,000 m²).
- 38 carry an official name, however small.
- 47 are both, named and at least 0.5 ha. That is what we count as a lake.
Anyone reading a different figure has almost always drawn a different line: count every water surface and Neuchâtel has 163; count only lakes over one square kilometre and you get 2. Even a plain name such as "Weiher" counts as official: what decides is the entry in the swissNAMES3D gazetteer. Our count states where the line is, so it can be checked.
Lake Finder: find any lake in Neuchâtel
Every officially named lake in Switzerland with area, elevation and canton. Filter by elevation and canton, search in all national languages.
- Municipalities: Estavayer · Cudrefin · Cheyres-Châbles · Concise · Delley-Portalban · Vully-les-Lacs · Chevroux · Cheseaux-Noréaz · Yvonand · Grandson · Corcelles-près-Concise · Gletterens · Onnens (VD) · Yverdon-les-Bains · Bonvillars · Neuchâtel · Milvignes · La Grande Béroche · Laténa · Cortaillod · Gampelen · Boudry · Montagny-près-YverdonOfficial names: Neuenburgersee · Lago di Neuchâtel · Lai da NeuchâtelArea by canton: Neuchâtel 39% · Vaud 35% · Fribourg 25% · Bern 0.9%
- Municipalities: Twann-Tüscherz · Erlach · Le Landeron · Biel/Bienne · Täuffelen · Sutz-Lattrigen · Lüscherz · Vinelz · La Neuveville · Mörigen · Ipsach · Ligerz · Gals · Nidau · HagneckOfficial names: Lac de Bienne · Lago di Bienne · Lai da BiennaArea by canton: Bern 99% · Neuchâtel 1%
- Area by canton: Neuchâtel 40% · rest abroad
- Area by canton: Neuchâtel 49% · rest abroad
- Municipalities: La Chaux-de-Fonds · Les Bois · La FerrièreArea by canton: Neuchâtel 14% · Jura 5% · Bern 3% · rest abroad
Source: swissTLM3D, swissNAMES3D, swissBOUNDARIES3D (© swisstopo, 2026 edition). Area = entire water surface, including the foreign part for border lakes. Elevation = water level in the landscape model. Analysis by ConvivaPlus.
Largest lake in Neuchâtel: Lac des Taillères
The largest lake touching Neuchâtel is the Lac de Neuchâtel (215.1 km²), but only 39% of its surface lies in the canton. The largest lake belonging entirely to the canton is the Lac des Taillères: 44 ha at 1036 m.
| Lake | Area | Elevation | Share in canton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lac de Neuchâtel | 215.1 km² | 429 m | 39% |
| Bielersee | 39.5 km² | 429 m | 1% |
| Lac des Brenets | 67 ha | 751 m | 40% |
| Lac de Moron | 66 ha | 712 m | 49% |
| Lac de Biaufond | 56 ha | 609 m | 14% |
| Lac des Taillères | 44 ha | 1036 m | 100% |
| Le Loclat | 4.5 ha | 431 m | 100% |
Highest lake in Neuchâtel: Lac des Taillères
Even the highest lake in Neuchâtel lies lower than 67% of Swiss lakes: the Lac des Taillères in La Brévine at 1036 m, 44 ha.
The canton's lowest-lying lake is the Lac de Neuchâtel at 429 m. The canton's median lake sits at 609 m. Elevation is the water level in the landscape model; for reservoirs it varies with how full they are. 2 of the 7 lakes in the canton have a dam or embankment (structures in swissTLM3D): Lac de Moron and Lac de Biaufond.
Shared lakes: which lakes Neuchâtel shares
99% of the lake surface in Neuchâtel lies in lakes it does not own alone. Neuchâtel shares 5 of its 7 lakes, 3 with other cantons and 3 with other countries; the table shows how much of each lies in the canton.
List of lakes in Neuchâtel
The list shows all 8 officially named bodies of water in the canton, by area. The 7 lakes of half a hectare or more come first; smaller ponds are marked.
- 1.Lac de Neuchâtel · 23 municipalities215.1 km²429 m
- 2.Bielersee · 15 municipalities39.5 km²429 m
- 3.Lac des Brenets · Le Locle67 ha751 m
- 4.Lac de Moron · Les Planchettes, Le Locle66 ha712 m
- 5.Lac de Biaufond · 3 municipalities56 ha609 m
- 6.Lac des Taillères · La Brévine44 ha1036 m
- 7.Le Loclat · Laténa4.5 ha431 m
- 8.L'Ecluse · Lignières790 m²802 m
Lakes by size: 6 larger than 10 ha
6 of the 7 lakes in Neuchâtel are larger than ten hectares, or 86%. Across Switzerland the share is 20%. By the number of lakes over 10 ha, Neuchâtel ranks 12 of the 26 cantons.
Only one lake measures less than five hectares.
The median lake in Neuchâtel sits 1298 m lower than the median Swiss lake (1907 m).
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891 lakes of half a hectare or more, 7 of them in Neuchâtel, number 17 among the 26 cantons by count of lakes. Grisons has the most, with 236.
86 lakes of 0.5 ha or more; the largest entirely within the canton is Thunersee, 47.8 km².
Residents, taxes, rents, wages and events: Neuchâtel in figures.
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ConvivaPlus Editor · Data & Switzerland
Writes about Switzerland in figures – official data recalculated, counting method explained.
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Source: swisstopo (swissTLM3D, swissNAMES3D, swissBOUNDARIES3D, 2026 edition), analysis by ConvivaPlus. Switzerland as a whole: 891 lakes out of 17'873 water surfaces; parts with the same name no more than 50 m apart count as one lake. Area = water surface at the shoreline of the landscape model; reference works using a different shoreline or water level sometimes give other values.
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