Lac d'Anterne et ses sédiments

Passy

The Lac d'Anterne, at 2,063 metres, lies at the bottom of a cirque overlooked by the cliff of the Rochers des Fiz, in the Sixt-Passy nature reserve, in the commune of Passy. It is a glacio-karstic polje: the dissolution of the limestone, then deepening by the glaciers, formed the basin. Its outlet is lost in a sinkhole and re-emerges lower down after two to four hours of underground travel. Sediment cores have made it possible to trace the last 10,000 years, according to Wikipedia. Rare vestiges of bivouacs show the passage of the last Mesolithic hunters. Around 1450 BC, in the Bronze Age, deforestation signals a greater human presence, with huts. In the Roman period, an enclosure and two huts yielded many sheep bones and fragments of Roman pottery. Wikipedia also reports Roman-era lead pollution; the DREAL entry links such a signal, in lake sediments, to the Roman exploitation of galena after the conquest of the Allobroges (without naming Anterne explicitly). In the 13th century, the herds became mainly cattle. The site has been listed since an order of 14 June 1909. No legend was found: the lake is valuable above all as an archive of high-altitude pastoralism several millennia old.

Getting there: Mountain hike, check the weather. From Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval: 7 h 30 round trip from the Lignon car park, 950 m of ascent, according to Wikipedia (figure not cross-checked); the lake can also be reached by the col d'Anterne from the Lac Vert (DREAL). Coordinates: OpenStreetMap marker ‘Lac d'Anterne’ (Nominatim), consistent with Wikipedia (45.9911; 6.7982).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound