Bassenthwaite Lake
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Bassenthwaite Lake is located in the Lake District in England. It is the only lake in the Lake District with 'lake' in its name, all the others being waters (e.g. Derwent Water, Ullswater) or meres (e.g. Thirlmere, Buttermere). It is fed by, and drains into, the River Derwent. The lake lies at the foot of Skiddaw and Dodd Wood, near the town of Keswick.
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Genesis
Like the other Lake District lakes, Bassenthwaite Lake lies in a glacially eroded valley, left after the last glaciation. Bassenthwaite Lake is linked to Derwent Water by the River Derwent, which crosses the three mile alluvial plain between the two lakes. There has been speculation that Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake were once one larger lake with the alluvial flats now separating them formed from partial infill of the original basin.
Biodiversity
The lake is about 6 kilometres long by 600 to 1000 metres wide. It covers an area of approximately 2 square miles, though its drainage area, at 91.5 sq miles is 44 times greater than any other lake in the Lake District. This, along with a large percentage of cultivable land within this drainage area, allows Bassenthwaite Lake to be a fertile habitat.
The lake contains trout, pike, perch,vendace and eel. Cormorants have been known to fish the lake and herons can also be seen. At the turn of the 19th century there was a report of 60 nests in a heronry in nearby Wythop Woods. In addition to this, the lake is also surrounded by highly fertile alluvial plains.
Neolithic Man
It has been reported that the wide gravel spreads between Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite lake provided the best centre within Lakeland for Neolithic farming communities. Stone axes have been found in the area and particularly at Mossgarth, Portinscale.