Photo : Romaric Juvanon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
le lac du Lauvitel
Lac du Lauvitel is a mountain lake of the Isère, in the Écrins massif, at about 1,500 metres' altitude. It covers roughly 25 to 35 hectares with depths of 40 to 65 metres, making it the largest lake of the massif. It formed about 4,000 years ago, when a rockfall combined with a glacial moraine dammed the valley. It has no surface outlet.
Its cold, oxygen-rich waters shelter Arctic char, brown trout and minnows. Marmots frequent the surroundings. Since 1995, the southern part has been a strict nature reserve, and in 2012 it was recognised as the first protected area in France with a scientific purpose, with access reserved for researchers, who study sediments and plankton among other things.
Attendance has risen sharply in recent years, up to nearly 1,000 visitors a day and 90 tents at the bivouacs in high season, which raises concern for this fragile environment.
