Jet d'Eau

The Jet d'Eau is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland, and is one of the city's most famous landmarks, being featured on the city's official tourism web site. Situated where Lake Geneva exits as the Rhône, it is visible throughout the city and from the air, even when flying over Geneva at an altitude of ten kilometres (33,000 ft). Five hundred litres (130 US gal) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 150 metres (490 ft) by two 500 kW pumps, operating at 2,400 V, consuming one megawatt of electricity and costing 510,000 CHF per year. The water leaves the ten-centimetre (4 in) nozzle at a speed of 200 km/h (55 m/s). At any given moment, there are about 7,000 L (1,800 US gal) 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.