The Lac d'Aiguebelette (; Lake of Aiguebelette) is a natural

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

north of the

Chartreuse Mountains The Chartreuse Mountains ( ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continue as the Bauges to the north and ...

in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

and just west of the

Chaîne de l'Épine Chaîne may refer to: People * Marius Chaîne (1873–1960), French scholar of Ethiopic and Coptic philology Places * Chaîne des Puys, a north-south oriented chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars in the Massif Central of France * Chaîne ...

in the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

. It is located within five

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

department:

Aiguebelette-le-Lac Aiguebelette-le-Lac (; "Aiguebelette-the-Lake"; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Égouabelèta''), also simply known as Aiguebelette, is a rural Communes of France, commune in the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ...

Lépin-le-Lac Lépin-le-Lac (; "Lépin-the-Lake"; Arpitan: ''Lépen-le-Léc''), also simply known as Lépin, is a rural commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2020, it had a population of 469. It lies ...

, Saint-Alban-de-Montbel, Novalaise and Nances. The lake hosted the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2015 World Rowing Championships The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at the Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette-le-Lac in France. Description The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by ...

Geography

Situation

With a surface area of 5.45 km² (2.10 sq mi) it is one of the largest natural lakes of France.Eaux vives et grands lacs
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourisme. It is the fourth-largest natural lake in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

, after

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

(although partly in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Lake Annecy Lake Annecy (, ) is a perialpine lake in Haute-Savoie in France. It is named after the city of Annecy, which marks the start of the Thiou, Lake Annecy's outflow river.Jean-Daniel Stanley and Thomas F. Jorstad, ''Direct Sediment Dispersal from Moun ...

and the

Lac du Bourget Lac du Bourget (; English Lake Bourget), also locally known as Lac Gris (; ) or Lac d'Aix (), is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely within France, and ...

. It has a maximum depth of 71 metres (233 ft). It is part of the Avant-Pays savoyard, formerly known as the Petit-Bugey. It is noted for its blue-green colour and seven hot water springs. The communities of

, Saint-Alban-de-Montbel, Novalaise and Nances border the lake, while the

ridge lies to the east with its high point at Mont Grêle (1,425 metres or 4,675 ft), south-southeast of the lake. At the southern end there are two islands, La Petite Île and La Grande Île, the latter of which has a chapel, the Chapelle Saint-Vincent, administratively part of the commune of Lépin-le-Lac.

Transport

The lake is served by the railway line from

Saint-André-le-Gaz Saint-André-le-Gaz () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Geography The Bourbre forms the commune's eastern border. Saint-André-le-Gaz station has rail connections to Lyon, Grenoble and Chambéry. Population Se ...

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...

; the section between Lépin-le-Lac-La Bauche station (southwest) and

Aiguebelette-le-Lac station Aiguebelette-le-Lac (; "Aiguebelette-the-Lake"; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Égouabelèta''), also simply known as Aiguebelette, is a rural Communes of France, commune in the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ...

(southeast) offers panoramic views on the lake. The

A43 autoroute The A43 autoroute, also known as ''l'autoroute alpine'' and ''l'autoroute de la Maurienne'', is a motorway in France. Travelling through the French Alps, the road connects the city of Lyon with the Tunnel du Fréjus, near Modane, which passes th ...

is north of the lake.

Climate

Lake Aiguebelette has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb'') closely bordering on a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Lake Aiguebelette is . The average annual rainfall is with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Lake Aiguebelette was on 24 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 20 December 2009.

Recreation

The

ridge is crossed by hiking trails;

paragliders Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness or in ...

launch from there during the summer. Motorboats are not allowed on the lake to preserve the silence and wildlife along the lake. There are noted views of the lake from the church at Saint-Alban-de-Montbel and the mountain ridges.

References

External links

Lac d'Aiguebelette
on www.savoie-mont-blanc.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lac D Aiguebelette Aiguebelette Rowing venues Aiguebelette