The Turracher See, framed by the Nockberge, is situated in the region of the Turracher Höhe, a pass passage in the Gurktaler Alpen which connects Carinthia and Styria. Geologically this region belongs to the powerfully built up Gurktaler Phyllit Zone. This zone is partly covered by conglomerate rock stratum in the north and north- east. The shore zones are used for streets and paths and therefore not very natural.
Covered by ice. Because of its altitude level of 1.780 m the lake is ice covered for about 6 months a year. The ice sheet reaches up to 1 m. In summer the lake only warms up to 18
°C.
No connection with the Drau. The lake is fed by 2 tributaries, one coming from the north and flowing into the southern basin, the other reaching the lake in the north. The Turracher See is the only Carinthian lake that does not drain into the Drau. The runoff leaves the lake in the north and flows as Vorderer Seebach into the Turrach, which drains into the Mur.
There are 6 species of fish:
Bass (Perca fluviatilis)
Lake trout (Salmo trutta f. lacustris)
Krook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
Char (Salvelinus alpinus)
Brown trout (Salmo tutta f. fario)
Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus)
Autochtonous population and stocking. While trout, char and minnow belong to the autochthon species, bass came into the lake only in recent times and unintentionally with other fish.
Incidence of lake trout and char. The botanist Wulfen described the lake trout 200 years ago as “black-spotted trout” existing in the “sub-alpine brooks of the Reichenau” (HONISG-ERLENBURG & MILDNER, 1996), meaning the region around Ebene Reichenau. This information makes clear that the lake trout probably also could be found in the nearby Turracher See at that time. It is similar to the char that is documented by Wulfen for the “most alpine lakes and their tributaries in Carinthia”.
The Fürstliche Schwarzenberg`sche Familienstiftung Vaduz is authorized to fish in the Turracher See.