Lake Artouste

Geography

The Lake Artouste is a natural lake, of glacial origin, Vallée of Ossau. It is located at 1.997 m of altitude and receives its water of the brook of Arrémoulit (coming from the Lacs of Arrémoulit), of a brook curving on a slope of the Pic of the Lake Arrious and Lacs of Batboucou. The gave of Soussouéou in fate. It is bordered on 3 on its 4 sides by the National park of the Pyrenees.

The natural lake (initial altitude 1.922 m) was raised by a stopping weight out of 27 m height slightly curved concrete brought into service in 1929 to feed the hydroelectric factory of Artouste in the valley of Ossau. The stopping was raised second once in 1962 (with dimension 1990,20 of the NGF) to increase storage and thus the producible one, and feeds the fall of the central of Bridge of Camps located upstream of the Lake Fabrèges. The Lake Artouste is also connected to the Lac of Migoëlou by a gallery of 800m currently unused under the collar of Artouste via the Lakes Carnau, and in winter the Lake Artouste is also fed by three hydrants located in the valley of Azun at the foot of Balaïtous (Batbieilh, Batcrabère and Larribet), whose water would run normally towards Gave of Pau.

The stopping also feeds an underground power station located under the stopping (falls of 73 m) of a working installed capacity 2.634 kVA. Water is then conveyed by a gallery skirting the railway (by recovering water of each talweg), until Sagette, towards the pressure pipes of the factory of Artouste.

The Small train of Artouste

To convey the workmen with the building site of the stopping during its construction between 1924 and 1929, it was necessary to build a railroad on the basis of the Pic of Sagette which one then reached thanks to a cable car. Indeed, the valley of Soussouéou was and is always virgin roads. Nowadays, the small train still rolls but it was transformed into tourist attraction; the departure is done at the station of sport of mountain of Fabrèges, on Right Bank of the Lake Fabrèges.

See too

List of the lakes of the Pyrenees

External bonds

Given Ministry for Industry

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