In the northeast, the 4.8 hectare large and 26 meter deep Untersee is almost completely separated from the main part of the lake, the Weitsee with its 172 hectares, by a 50 meter wide and only 0.5 meter deep narrow area. A hiking trail leads over a small bridge at this narrow point along the north bank of the Eibsee. The deepest point of the entire lake at 34.5 meters is only about 90 meters from the eastern south bank (approximately at the level of Frillensee). The completely separate small neighboring lakes include Frillensee in the south (not to be confused with the larger Frillensee near Inzell) as well as Braxensee, Steingringpriel, Steinsee, Froschsee and Drachenseelein in the north.
The lake is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the Bavarian Alps due to its location below the Zugspitze and the clear, green-tinted water. It was created when the Isar-Loisach Glacier retreated at the end of the Würm Ice Age, leaving behind a depression that filled with water. Between 1700 B.C. and 1400 BC. In 200 BC a landslide with an area of 13 km² and a volume of 350 million m³ crossed the central and eastern part of the lake. The estimated energy release in this landslide event with an average fall height of 1400 m corresponds to approximately 2.9 megatons of TNT (approx. 220 Hiroshima bombs). This resulted in a significant modification of the morphological shape of the Eibsee depression. This created the shape of today's lake with its 29 hollows and 8 islands. It is one of the rare cases in which islands and shallows of a lake are geologically much younger than the lake basin itself. Around 8 submarine crests have depths of less than 3 meters. The only significant above-ground tributaries are the Kotbach, which flows into the northwest tip of the lake, and the Weiterbach in the south. The lake is a blind lake because there is no surface drainage and, due to the location of the basin, water can only drain or seep underground. It is assumed that the headwaters of the Kreppbach, located almost 2 km to the northeast (Rohrlaine locality), are fed underground by Eibsee waters.
Its name comes from the yew tree, which used to be very numerous around the lake. Today it can only be found sporadically on the lake and only occurs in the forests near the lake. You can get a good view of the lake from the Zugspitze cable car and the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn, both of which lead up to the Zugspitze.