Hinterer Gosausee

The Hintere Gosausee lies high in the Salzkammergut, a glacial lake set against the northern flank of the Dachstein massif at 1,154 metres. It sits in a rock basin scoured by the Gosau glacier, its steep walls dropping straight into the water. A single forest track, closed to cars, winds up from Gosau village eight kilometres away. The lake’s hydrology is unusual: underground flows from the Great Gosau Glacier and Hallstatt Glacier feed it through a cave system called an estavelle. Water levels can shift by up to fifteen metres, turning the same shaft from spring to swallow-hole. In spring melt or heavy rain a separate overflow channel fills the Gosaulacke wetland below. On the south-west shore a rare birch-larch avalanche forest clings to the slope. Moor birch, mountain ash and creeping pine share space with alpine roses and willows. The lake holds no rooted water plants but supports small fish, alpine newts and common frogs. At its southern end the Hohe Holzmeisteralm offers seasonal refreshment, while the water, warmed briefly above twenty degrees, invites the occasional swimmer.