Lago Trasimeno Live Cam

Geological Origins and Hydrological Dynamics

Lago Trasimeno, the largest lake in central Italy and the fourth-largest in the peninsula, occupies a tectonic depression formed during the late Pliocene. Bounded by the rolling hills of Umbria and Tuscany, the lake basin resulted from extensional faulting that created graben structures filled by fluvial and lacustrine sediments. Modern bathymetric surveys reveal an average depth of just 4.5 meters, with a maximum of 6.3 meters, classifying Trasimeno as a shallow eutrophic lake—prized by limnologists studying nutrient cycling and sedimentation rates. Seasonal water level fluctuations of up to 1.2 meters reflect both anthropogenic water withdrawals for irrigation and natural variations in the Tiber and Clitumno catchment inputs.