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Lac de Mauvoisin is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in the canton of
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. The reservoir is formed by the
Mauvoisin Dam
Mauvoisin Dam is a concrete variable radius arch dam across the Val de Bagnes on the Dranse de Bagnes stream, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. Initial construction on the dam commenced in 1951 and was completed in 1957, with the reservoir fi ...
, which is high. The dam is the
11th highest in the world, and the 6th highest
arch dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthe ...
. It was built in 1951–1957, and raised by in 1991.
The reservoir lies in the upper
Val de Bagnes
Val de Bagnes, also called the Vallée de Bagnes (German: Bangital or Baniental) is a valley located in the Entremont District in the Canton of Valais of Switzerland.
Geography
Val de Bagnes is traversed by the Drance de Bagnes. In the upper pa ...
, between the massif of the
Grand Combin
The Grand Combin is a mountain massif in the western Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais. At a height of the summit of ''Combin de Grafeneire'' is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and the second most prominent of the Pennine Alps. The Gran ...
, one of the highest mountains of the Alps, and
La Ruinette
La Ruinette is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, overlooking the Lake of Mauvoisin in the canton of Valais. With an altitude of 3,875 metres above sea level, it is the highest summit between the Grand Combin and the Dent Blanche. La Ruinet ...
. The highest peak visible from the lake is the
Combin de la Tsessette ().
Gallery
Mauvoisin.jpg, Mauvoisin Dam, with Mont Blanc de Cheilon
Mont Blanc de Cheilon (also spelled ''Mont Blanc de Seilon'') is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located in the Swiss canton of Valais. The mountain lies between the valleys of Bagnes and Arolla. Culminating at 3,870 metres above sea level, it ...
in the background
Dranse de Bagnes.jpg, Dranse de Bagnes Dranse may refer to:
*Dranse (Haute-Savoie), a French river in Haute-Savoie, that empties into Lake Geneva
**Dranse d'Abondance, considered as the upper part of the Dranse in Haute-Savoie
** Dranse de Morzine, a major tributary of the Dranse that be ...
, a stream flowing from the Mauvoisin lake
See also
*
List of lakes of Switzerland
This article contains a sortable table listing all major lakes of Switzerland. The table includes all still water bodies, natural or artificial, that have a surface area of at least , regardless of water volume, maximum depth or other metric. Th ...
*
List of mountain lakes of Switzerland
This is a list of high-altitude lakes in Switzerland. It includes all significant lakes, natural or artificial, with an area over 4 hectares and a height over 800 metres above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to the transiti ...
External links
Swiss Dams: Profile of Mauvoisin*
Mauvoisin
Mauvoisin
Bagnes
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