Lago Arancio, reservoir in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, Italy

Lago Arancio is an artificial reservoir on the Carboj River in the Sicani mountains, within the municipalities of Sambuca di Sicilia, Santa Margherita di Belice and Sciacca. Its dam was built between 1949 and 1952, and the basin holds up to 32 million cubic metres of water. The Resinata wood lies to the west, while the Tardara gorge, cut by the Carboj, the lake's only outflow, lies to the east.

The dam was completed in the early 1950s to support water supply and irrigation in one of the driest parts of Sicily. When the basin was flooded, the Arab fortress of Mazzallakkar, built in the 9th century, was submerged beneath the rising water.

The name Arancio comes from the Arabic word for orange, a trace of the long Arab presence in this part of Sicily. Today, the lake is known among bird watchers for the many species that stop here during migration.

The lake can be reached by minor roads and walking paths that run along the shore from different directions. Spring and fall are the best times for wildlife watching, but the area is open throughout the year.

When the water level drops in summer, the walls of the Mazzallakkar fortress rise above the surface and become visible from the shore. The ruins sit in the middle of the basin and can remain exposed for several months depending on how dry the season has been.