Photo : Tigerente / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Lakes · Pyrénées-AtlantiquesOutstanding
Lac d'Artouste
The Lac d'Artouste is a natural lake of glacial origin in the Ossau valley, lying at nearly 2,000 metres. It is bordered on three of its four sides by the Pyrenees National Park. It receives water from the Arrémoulit and Batboucou lakes, and the Soussouéou stream flows out of it.
The natural lake was raised by a concrete gravity dam brought into service in 1929 to supply the Artouste hydroelectric plant. To carry building materials to the site, a railway was built along the mountainside: it is now run as a small tourist train, one of the highest in Europe, starting from the Lac de Fabrèges. The lake can also be reached on foot by hiking trails, in a cirque of granite peaks.
