Photo : Andre Corso / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lac de Madine
The Lac de Madine covers about 1,100 hectares, mainly in the Meuse and partly in Meurthe-et-Moselle, on the course of the Madine, a sub-tributary of the Moselle. It is the largest lake in Lorraine by area. It lies in the Woëvre plain, within the Lorraine regional nature park, a clay plain that was once marshland, gradually drained by monks between the 12th and 16th centuries with channels and fish ponds.
Filled in 1971, the lake has a threefold purpose: drinking water reserve for the Metz area, national hunting and wildlife reserve, and leisure area. Petrol-powered boats are banned, making it a stretch of water reserved for sailing. Two islands, the Île Verte and the Île du Bois-Gérard, dot the lake, and its shores offer beaches and a marina.
