Lake of Greenhouse-Ponçon

The lake of Greenhouse-Ponçon is a artificial Lac created by the establishment of a Barrage on the Durance 2 km downstream from its confluence with the Ubaye. With 1,2 billion m of water and a surface of 28,2 km, it is the second more important reserve of water in Europe (the first being the Lac of DER-Chantecoq).

Neighbouring communes

Stopping of Greenhouse-Ponçon

History

The risings devastators of the Durance, in 1843 and 1856, led to feasibility studies of a stopping. The too great permeability of the grounds however required to await the emergence of novel methods. It is only in 1948 qu ' a Muscovite engineer of origin , Ivan Wilhem, proposed a viable project.

The alteration work begins in 1955 with Jean de Mailly for architect helped from Jean Prouvé and the setting in water of reserve is carried out as from November 1959 to be completed in May 1961. Approximately 1500 people were moved and their villages - Savines, Ubaye, Rousset - flooded. The village of Savines was rebuilt and new the Savines-the-lake was inaugurated in 1962.

The Lake of Greenhouse-Ponçon is the second plus artificial big lake of Europe.

Characteristics

The Barrage in fill 650 m is broad at its base. The peak, high, 124 m is broad 9,35 m and long of 630 Mr. One can consider his volume at to 14.000.000 Mr. It is designed to resist a jolt magnitude 7 on the scale of Richter.

The Bassin pouring lake is of 3.600 km and the maximum capacity of the reserve of 1,272 km. The maximum altitude of the lake is of 780 m but it can go down to 722 m to the low water level.

Installations

Utility installations

The “law of installation of Greenhouse-Ponçon and the Low-Durance” of January 5th, 1955 shows the will of the legislator to associate the Irrigation with the Hydroélectricité. Thus, starting from reserve, a concreted channel - managed by EDF - deviates most of the water of the river until the pond of Berre. This “Canal of the Durance” follows the natural bed of the river and allows the agricultural irrigation.

The bridge of Savines, an overall length of 924 m, was completed in 1960. It overhangs the old village of 40 Mr.

Tourist installations

The vault Saint-Michel

Around the year 1020, the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Boscodon had a Prieuré which dominated the valley of the Durance over its Right Bank, between Chorges and Prunières. The vault, built with the XII° century on a small eminence, and dedicated to Saint-Michel, was destroyed in 1692 by the troops of the duke of Savoy.
Rebuilt with the XVII° century, it became a place of Pilgrimage for the parishioners of Chorges and Prunières, which went there as a crowd the September 29th, festival of the Saint-Michel. During the construction of the stopping of Greenhouse-Ponçon, in 1961, the destruction of the vault was programmed, but it was finally safeguarded. From now on the vault throne alone on a small island of a few tens of square meters above the level the lake. The cemetery was absorbed, and the walled vault. There one can still approach some, but in no case to penetrate.
The small island Saint-Michel east today one of most photographed the sites department of the Hautes-Alpes.

Random links: