Photo : Jocelyne Darracq / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Lac d'Hourtin et de Carcans
The Lac d'Hourtin et de Carcans is the northernmost of the great Gironde lakes and the largest natural freshwater lake lying entirely in France, covering about 5,700 hectares. It stretches from north to south, parallel to the Atlantic coast, for 18 kilometres and up to 5 kilometres wide. The people of Hourtin call it Lac d'Hourtin, those of Carcans Lac de Carcans.
Its dune shores were stabilised in the 19th century by planting pines, and the Canal des Étangs links it to the Lac de Lacanau. The lake is a protected site, and the national nature reserve of the Hourtin dunes and marshes protects more than 2,000 hectares on its western shore. Sandy beaches and the harbours of Hourtin and Maubuisson make it a popular place for swimming, sailing and walking.
