Lake Der-Chantecoq

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lake Der-Chantecoq Lac du Der-Chantecoq

Location	Champagne-Ardenne
Coordinates	48°34′57″N, 4°45′33″ECoordinates: 48°34′57″N, 4°45′33″E
Lake type	artificial lake
Primary inflows	River Marne
Primary outflows	River Marne
Catchment area	2,900 km²
Basin countries	France
Surface area	48 km²
Max. depth	15 m
Water volume	350 mio m³
Settlements	Sainte-Marie-du-Lac-Nuisement, Giffaumont-Champaubert

Lake Der-Chantecoq (French: Lac du Der-Chantecoq) is situated close to the commune of Saint-Dizier in the departments of Marne and Haute-Marne. It is the largest artificial lake in France, covering 48 km² with 350 million m³ of water. The lake is named after the Der plain, in which it is located, and the submerged village Chantecoq.

The lake is fed by a 12 km long canal that branches off the river Marne in Saint-Dizier. The outflow of the lake is a canal that joins the Marne in Arrigny, 20 km downstream of Saint-Dizier. The lake is located in the communes (clockwise starting from the north) Sainte-Marie-du-Lac-Nuisement, Éclaron-Braucourt-Sainte-Livière, Giffaumont-Champaubert, Arrigny, Larzicourt and Écollemont.

[edit] History

It was created in 1974 to hold the water of the River Marne so that flooding of the Seine at Paris would stop. It is managed by the Les Grands Lacs de Seine. Its construction required the destruction of three villages; Chantecoq, Champaubert-aux-Bois et Nuisement-aux-Bois.

Today, many water sports are popular here, including sailing, water skiing, jet-ski, wind surfing, fishing, rowing etc. as well as walking, rollerblading and cycling around its edges.The Lac du Der has a very odd shaped outline that accentuates the fact that it is man made.

The fauna is abundant and protected. Each spring and autumn, many common cranes assemble here.