The Eau d'Heure lakes () is a complex of five artificial lakes in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, forming the largest lake area in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The dams were built during the 1970s. The lakes are not far from the village of Cerfontaine, south of the city of

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

, and the border with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. They are within the municipalities of Cerfontaine ( province of Namur) and Froidchapelle ( province of Hainaut). The primary river feeding the lakes is the

Eau d'Heure Eau or EAU may refer to: * The French word for water ** O (Cirque du Soleil), a water-themed stage production * Eau (trigraph), a trigraph of the Latin script * EAU, the IATA code for the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, United State ...

. There are five dams and one hydro-electric power station. The largest lake, the ''Lac de la Plate Taille'', is itself the largest single lake in the country, at , while together the lakes have a surface area of . It is a popular tourist attraction, with water sports, including fishing,

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ing, diving and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

. The five lakes are: * ''Lac de l'Eau d'Heure'', the central lake of the complex * ''Lac de Falemprise'', a medium-sized lake to the south-east * ''Lac de Féronval'', a small lake at the north end of Lac de l'Eau d'Heure * ''Lac de la Plate Taille'', the largest lake at , at the south-west of the group * ''Lac du Ry Jaune'' (sometimes spelled ''Ri Jaune''), a small lake on the east side

References

Official Website

Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010

External links

* *
Installations inside the Plate Taille dam, photographs of 1992.
from the Site of the Walloon regional archives (fr).
Site of the Walloon regional archives. Inside the Eau d'Heure dams. Pictures from 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eau D'heure Lakes Reservoirs in Belgium Lakes of the Ardennes (Belgium) Lakes of Hainaut (province) Lakes of Namur (province) REau D'heure Cerfontaine, Belgium Froidchapelle