The Pyrenean mountain range is like a wall that separates France and Spain. The range extends itself from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. An abundant streaming flow creates countless torrents but not innumerable lakes also called pond or estany, boom, gourg or gorg, small lake or laquette, lago. Those names depend on the geographic location, whether they are located in the West, the Center, the East, the North or the South. A lot of lakes, such as
Cap de Long or
Artouste are raised with the help of dams. Others, such as
Lac d'Oô or
lac Bleu are drilled. Finally, some are completely man-made for economic purposes, like the
lac des Bouillouses or the
barrage du Tech for example.
Ludovic Gaurier studied the lakes of the French slope and made the first geographic and topographic inventory. He counted 520 altitude lakes in 1930 and supposed a similar number on the Spanish side, the majority is located between 1800m and 2500m. But
Louis Audoubert who wrote several books on the subject counted 2512 lakes on both slopes!
To make the inventory of all the Pyrenean lakes is not an easy task. Some are tiny, nameless, or even forgotten on the maps. Each lakes on this website have a page often containing pictures and comments that can be yours.
The classification has been made from West to East, by departments and watersheds or valleys for the French Pyrenees (
Cauterets,
Ax les Thermes, etc) with a total count of 700 lakes. As concerning the Spanish Pyrenees (
Vall d'Aran,
valle de Benasque,
Vall de Boí), its classification is almost complete with nearly
650 lakes.
At today's date there are approximately
1361 lakes pages available and more than 5000 pictures published. For example
Lac de Gaube or the
Lac d'Estaing or the
lac Tourrat …
These high mountain lakes provide unique habitats for many plant and animal species. Due to climatic conditions and difficult access, their specific biodiversity is still poorly understood.
They are very fragile and threatened by various factors (climate change, hydroelectricity, pastoralism, air pollution, unregulated tourism, introduction of fish, etc.). Protection and sustainable management initiatives are being implemented to ensure the preservation of these fragile ecosystems.
Only a small number of Pyrenean lakes have natural populations.
Ludovic Gaurier mentions a few of them in his studies conducted between 1900 and 1928.
P. Chimits in 1936 counted around 60 lakes in the western part, populated by brown trout
(Fario trout). From that time onwards, systematic restocking began under the impetus of the Water and Forestry Department, which was maintained naturally and constantly restocked by the
Pyrenees National Park nbsp;since the 1960s and by the departmental fishing federations today. In the past,
stocking was carried out by men or mules, but today it is done by helicopter.
For the past twenty years or so, many high-altitude lakes, particularly in the Pyrenees National Park, have not been stocked with fish. It has been found that the introduction of fish, which thrive at the expense of natural fauna due to the absence of natural predators, upsets the balance of the ecosystem. Initiatives to eradicate the fish are currently underway!
