Lac de Bious-Artigues, lake in France

Lac de Bious-Artigues is a reservoir in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, situated in the Ossau Valley near the French-Spanish border. The water body is ringed by forested mountain slopes and provides access to hiking trails, fishing spots, and water activities including canoeing and paddling.

The dam was built between 1953 and 1957 by the SHEM (Société Hydroélectrique du Midi) and put into service in 1957, submerging part of the cleared Bious-Artigues plateau. The thin-arch dam is 50 m high, with a 285 m head and a capacity of 5.1 million m³. The name Bious is recorded as Bius in the Ossau cartulary in 1355.

The road from Gabas to the lake is closed in winter, from December to April, because of frequent avalanches. In summer, attendants manage two car parks: the 100-space one on the lake shore fills first, then the Bious-Oumette platforms below, and the Gabas road is shut once both are full, which happens 5 to 10 times a year. A waymarked path circles the lake without difficulty.

The dam that holds the lake back is a thin-arch structure 50 m high, built between 1953 and 1957 by the SHEM (Société Hydroélectrique du Midi); its 285 m head and 5.1 million m³ capacity make it a hydroelectric work, not a water-supply reservoir. The rising water submerged part of the cleared Bious-Artigues plateau.