Gaube Lake (in
French: ''Lac de Gaube'') is a lake in the
French Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
, in the department of the
Hautes-Pyrénées, near the town of
Cauterets
Cauterets (; in Occitan ''Cautarés'', in Catalan ''Cautarés'', in Aragonese ''Cautarès'') is a spa town, a ski resort and a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and the region of Occitanie in south-western France.
Geography
Caute ...
.
Name
The lake's name is
tautological, in that ''gaube'' in the
Gascon language means "lake", hence the
place name
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Often ...
is "Lake Lake".
Topography
The lake is situated in an altitude of 1725 m, an egg-shaped form stretching itself along a north–south axis in the valley of Gaube. This steep-sided valley is located at the foot of the
Vignemale
The Vignemale (; Occitan: ''Vinhamala'', Aragonese: ''Comachibosa'', Catalan: ''Vinyamala''), at 3,298 metres, is the highest of the French Pyrenean summits (the highest in the whole of the range is Pic d'Aneto). It lies on the border between ...
(3298M). The lake is surrounded by the peak Mayouret (2688 m) to the east, the big Peak of the Paloumères (2720 m) to the southeast, and the peak of Gaube (2377 m) to the northwest.
Hydrography
Its principal inflows are the Gaube River tributaries (Gave des oulettes de Gaube), which take their name from the
Gave de Gaube
GAVE may refer to:
* Gave (Melgaço), a parish in Portugal
* Gave (placename element), a French word meaning ''torrential river'' in the west Pyrenees
* Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), a medical condition
* Gabinete de Avaliação Educaci ...
, which is the principal outflow of the lake. The lake has an average depth of 40m, surface area of 19 hectares, and more than 2 km of shoreline. A delta situated at the mouth of the principal outflow of the lake is loaded with glacial alluvial deposits.
Geology
The shoreline and surrounding slopes are covered with various glacial rock formations.
Access
The lake is accessible by an hour's hike through the forest, or by
cable car from the
Pont d'Espagne
Pont d'Espagne is a stone-built bridge that spans the Gave de Marcadau at the point where it meets the Gave de Gaube, near one of its sources high in the French Pyrenees. It is a protected area of the Pyrénées in the Pyrénées National Park.
...
in the valley of Cauterets. It is famous for its panorama and relative ease of access. It is the departure point for many pedestrian hikes; its left shore is lined by the
GR 10 leading towards the Gaube River tributaries.
References
External links
Travel site with some details regarding Gaube Lake
Lakes of Hautes-Pyrénées
Glacial lakes of France
{{HautesPyrénées-geo-stub