Lac de Serre-Ponçon
| Lac de Serre-Ponçon | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Lac de Serre-Ponçon  Lac de Serre-Ponçon  Lac de Serre-Ponçon  Lac de Serre-Ponçon | |
| Location | Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence |
| Coordinates | 44°31′N 6°21′E / 44.517°N 6.350°ECoordinates: 44°31′N 6°21′E / 44.517°N 6.350°E |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Durance, Ubaye |
| Primary outflows | Durance |
| Catchment area | 3,600 km2 (1,400 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | France |
| Built | 1955 |
| Max. length | 20 km (12 mi) |
| Max. width | 3 km (1.9 mi) |
| Surface area | 28 km2 (11 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 90 m (300 ft) |
| Water volume | 1.272 km3 (1,031,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Residence time | 0.5 year |
| Surface elevation | max. 780 m (2,560 ft) |
Lake Serre-Ponçon (French: Lac de Serre-Ponçon) is a reservoir in the departments of Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in southeast France, one of the largest in western Europe. The lake gathers the waters of the Durance and the Ubaye rivers, flowing down through the Hautes-Alpes and the Alpes du Sud to the Rhône River. The waters are dammed by the Barrage de Serre-Ponçon, a 123-metre (404 ft) high earth core dam.
As well as water control, sixteen hydroelectric plants use the water and the lake provides irrigation to 1,500 square kilometres (580 sq mi) of land.
History
The lake was created to control water flow after disastrous floods caused severe damage and loss of life in 1843 and 1856. First proposed in 1895, construction started in 1955 and was completed by 1961.
During construction of the lake, approximately 3,000,000 cubic metres (110,000,000 cu ft) of material was moved. The dam was constructed and the valley slowly became a lake, flooding some villages in the process. This flooding is the subject of Jean Giono's movie Girl and the River, starring Guy Béart.
Geography
Neighboring communes:
Externals links
References
- French Department of Industry
