Étang de Soulcem is a large artificial lake in the Pyrenees mountains in Ariège, France. It is at an elevation of 1570 m and is used for hydroelectricity, generating 62

GWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

/year. The lake, which has a surface area of 0.91 km², was formed following the construction by

Électricité de France Électricité de France S.A. (literally ''Electricity of France''), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. Headquartered in Paris, with €71.2 billion in revenues in 2 ...

of a dam across the northern end of the Vicdessos valley in 1980–1983. The lake contains various fish including

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

(''S. trutta''), Arctic char (''S. alpinus''),

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

(''S. fontinalis''), and common minnow (''P. phoxinus'').

External links

Soulcem Hydroelectric power stations in France Dams completed in 1983 {{Ariège-geo-stub