Lac Bénit, Glacial lake in Mont-Saxonnex, France.
Lac Bénit is a glacial lake in Haute-Savoie positioned at approximately 1450 meters elevation, surrounded by the cliffs of Grand Bargy. The water body stretches several hundred meters in length and owes its formation to glacial activity during the ice age.
Lac Bénit lies in a glacial basin at 1,452 m on the northern slope of the Bargy chain, in Mont-Saxonnex. Three nested morainic arcs border its north and north-western shores, and a moraine veneer seals the eastern outlet. In 1964 a 2 m dam raised the water level, doubling the surface to 4.1 ha and adding 3 m of depth; the work was inaugurated on 11 July 1965.
Lac Bénit is central to local legend: fairies once bathed in its waters and were said to have brought butter- and tomme-making to Mont-Saxonnex. Until recently, villagers from Marnaz and Mont-Saxonnex came in procession on Saint Claude's day to protect their villages from flooding. In 1988 Abbé Arsène Bourgeaux recorded that locals regard the lake as a founding site of their identity.
Visitors access the lake via a marked trail starting from the Le Bété parking area, and the hike takes a few hours to complete. Two different routes are available with varying degrees of steepness, allowing hikers to choose based on their fitness level.
A 2 m dam built at the outflow in 1964 raised the lake's level, doubling its surface by 2 ha and adding 3 m of depth; it was inaugurated on 11 July 1965 with an improvised mass by curé Claude Scherantz. The lake is also shrinking naturally: the active scree cone from the col d'Encrenaz has already filled about a third of its basin.
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