Lake Paladru (''Lac de Paladru, nicknamed "Lac Bleu" by local residents'') is a small

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located in the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

, near

Charavines Charavines () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère. The communes cooperate in ...

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The lake was formed by the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. It is 5.3 kilometres long and 1.2 kilometres wide when full, the maximum depth is 36 metres. The lake is shared between four municipalities and two cantons. It is the fifth largest natural lake of glacier origin in France. It is a major archaeological site, with several protected natural areas that are inaccessible by the public.

Geography

Location

Lake Paladru is located in the

'', in the region of the Miocene hills of Bas-Dauphiné called "Terres froides" and between the towns of

Voiron Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) is a commune (French municipality) in the ninth district of the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron i ...

and

La Tour-du-Pin La Tour-du-Pin (; frp, La Tor-du-Pin) is a subprefecture of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 8,137. Geography The Bourbre flows west through the southe ...

. It extends in a north-east or south-west orientation over 5.3 kilometres for a width of 650 metres. The average depth is 25 metres, with a maximum depth of 36 metres. The lake contains 97 million m³ of water, and is located 492 metres above sea level. Four municipalities share the lake;

to the south, Villages du Lac de Paladru (merge of Le Pin and Paladru in 2017) to the west and north,

Montferrat Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, ...

and Bilieu to the east. The main beaches are located at the northern and southern ends, the shores on the side have a steeper gradient.

Access

The lake is bordered by two departmental roads which allow access: * The route départementale 50 (D50) which connects the town of La Bâtie-Divisin (at a junction with the D1075) to the town of La Murette (at a junction with the D520) * The route départementale 90 (D90) which connects the town of Charavines with Villages du Lac de Paladru along the eastern shore. The lake is located about 5 kilometres from the A48 autoroute, which connects the A43 to Grenoble. The lake can be accessed from either junction 9 for Rives, or junction 10 for Voiron.

Hydrography

Water source

The lake is fed by two streams which are two tributaries of La Fure: * the Courbon, a 3.7 kilometre long stream which originates at

and joins the lake at Paladru. * the Surand, also known as Chantabot or Marais stream. This is an outlet from the Vivier pond, a body of water located in the municipality of Valencogne.

The source of La Fure

La Fure enters the lake at Charavines. This river joins the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Tullins Tullins () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Geography The agglomeration of Tullins is situated in forested foothills that flank Chambaran Plateau. At its foot lies the alluvial plain of the Isère, which is the ...

, after 20 kilometres having crossed Rives.

Weather

The lake area has a cool temperate climate. The north-south orientation and relatively high altitude means the average temperature is around 10 °C. Rainfall is irregular, with most rain occurring in June and October with the rise of humid air masses from the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. January is the coldest month, with freezing occurring frequently.

Toponymy

There are two possibilities to explain the origin of the name: * the word ''palud'' (sometimes written palue) means "marais" (marsh in English) in ancient French. The term ''Paladru'', attached to the village of the same name, is similar to this term. A marsh is located north of the lake. * According to Dauphinois historian Nicolas Chorier, the term Paladru could refer to the presence of oaks ("δρύς" ''drús'' in Greek).

History

Between 1909 and 1913, the lake served as an experimental ground for prototype

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s built by Raymond de Montgolfier.

References

External links

The farmer-knights of Paladru Lake
* Paladru, Lac Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Isère-geo-stub