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Photo: TheFlyingDutchman, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
At surface area by far the largest lake in the region and the largest artificial lake in Germany until surpassed by the Cottbuser Ostsee in the Lusatian Lake District.
Geiseltalsee, literally Geisel valley lake, is at about 1,840 hectares the largest artificial lake by area in Germany. Once flooding of the Cottbuser Ostsee is complete it will surpass Geiseltalsee in surface area, covering 19 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi). Geiseltalsee lies in the Saalekreis district of the state Saxony-Anhalt. The lake was created in 2003-11 by flooding a former opencast lignite mine in the Geiseltal ; the name of that valley had become widely known due to the notable fossil record which emerged from that coal mine.
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