JetLeau_Geneva-WD

The famous Jet d’Eau on Lake Geneva, as seen from a window at St. Pierre Cathedral. Originally installed in 1886 as a safety valve for Geneva’s hydraulic power network, Jet d’Eau serves purely decorative purposes today. Some 130 gallons of water per second shoot 460 feet in the air, though at any given moment up to 1,800 gallons of water may be hanging out above the lake. The slightest shift in wind direction can drench unsuspecting visitors — and what’s a lake in the Alps without wind? (Courthouse News photo / William Dotinga)