Jet d´eau - Geneva, Switzerland
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 46° 12.445 E 006° 09.372
32T E 280625 N 5121025
The Jet d'Eau (Water-Jet) is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland, and is one of the city's most famous landmarks.
Waymark Code: WMC0XE
Location: Genève, Switzerland
Date Posted: 07/12/2011
Views: 35
The Jet d'Eau (Water-Jet) is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland, and is one of the city's most famous landmarks. It is also one of the largest fountains in the world. Situated at the point where Lake Geneva empties into the Rhone River, it is visible throughout the city and from the air, even when flying over Geneva at an altitude of 10 km (33,000 ft).
Five hundred litres (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres (459 feet) by two 500 kW pumps, operating at 2,400 V, consuming over one megawatt of electricity. The water leaves the nozzle at a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). When it is in operation, at any given moment there are about 7,000 litres (1849 gallons) of water in the air. Unsuspecting visitors to the fountain—which can be reached via a stone jetty from the left bank of the lake—may be surprised to find themselves drenched after a slight change in wind direction.
What is now a City Landmark known worldwide was in 1866 a safety valve for a hydraulic power network. In fact, the first Jet d'Eau was installed in 1886 at the Usine de la Coulouvrenière, a little bit further downstream from its present location and was used as a safety valve for the hydraulic power network. It could reach a height of about 30 metres (98 feet). In 1891, its aesthetic value was recognised and it was moved to its present location to celebrate the Federal Gymnastics Festival and the 600th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation, on which occasion it was operated for the first time. Its maximum height was about 90 metres (295 feet). The present Jet d'Eau was installed in 1951 in a partially submerged pumping station to pump lake water instead of city water.
Since 2003, the fountain has operated during the day all year round, except in case of frost and particularly strong wind. It also operates in the evening between spring and autumn and is lit by a set of 12 lights totaling 108 kW.
From Wikipedia
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