The Hourtin-Carcans Lake (french: lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, ; oc, lac de Hortin e de Carcan) is a lake in the natural region of

Médoc The Médoc (; oc, label= Gascon, Medòc ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the ''département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''(Pagus) Medull ...

, located in the French department of

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

, Aquitaine. It is one of the largest lakes in France, and the largest freshwater lake, by surface area, situated entirely in France. It lies at an elevation of 14 m (46 ft), and has a surface area of 56.67 km² (21.88 sq. miles). In winter, its size is exceeded by Lac de Grand-Lieu in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

which expands to cover 62.92 km² but shrinks to 35 km² in summer.

Geography

The lake, one of the Great Lakes of the Landes, extends 18 km at its longest and 5 km at its widest, parallel to the Côte d'Argent on the Atlantic Ocean. The closest towns to Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans are Hourtin to the north east,

Carcans Carcans (; oc, Carcan, ) is a commune and town in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine), France. Carcans is one of the 14 members of the Community of Communes of Médoc Atlantique. Geo ...

to the south east and the resort of Maubuisson on the lake's southwestern shore.

Nature reserve

The 21.5 km² area of dunes and marshland between the north-western shore of the lake and the Atlantic Ocean, known as the 'dunes et marais d'Hourtin', has been designated a nature reserve since 2009.Dunes et marais d'Hourtin
in French

References

Hourtin Carcans Landforms of Gironde {{Gironde-geo-stub