Lac des Rives

Lac des Rives, also called Lac des Aygues, is a temporary lake on the Larzac plateau, in the Hérault, about two kilometres north of the village of Les Rives and at 722 metres' altitude. It forms after heavy rain: runoff water accumulates in a karst depression whose cracks are sealed by a mix of sand and clay, the grésou, which stops it seeping away.

The lake can reach about fifteen hectares with a depth of about fifteen metres. It has appeared several times over the decades, notably in 1933, 1956, 1963, 1977, 2004, 2014 and 2023, and its duration varies from a few days to several years depending on the episode. It shelters rare crustaceans, fairy shrimps, whose eggs survive drought for long periods, and attracts frogs and newts when water is present.

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