Lake Castel
| Lago Castel | |
|---|---|
 The lake in winter | |
| Location | Formazza, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont, Italy |
| Type | Artificial lake |
| Basin countries | Italy |
| Surface area | 0.37 km2 (0.14 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 2,224 m (7,297 ft) |
The Lago Castel or Lago Kastel (in Walser: Chaschtulsee) is a lake in the municipality of Formazza, in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.[1]
History
[edit]
The lake was expanded with the construction, between 1924 and 1928, of a 17-meter-high dry stone dam, so that its waters could be used for hydroelectric purposes at the Sottofrua hydroelectric power plant.[2] However, the overly permeable terrain rendered the dam ineffective over time, as the basin's waters filtered through the karstic bottom of the reservoir, leading to the dam's decommissioning in the 1950s.[3]
Characteristics
[edit]The lake is located at an elevation of 2224 m, in upper Val Formazza, and is dominated by various peaks, including the Corno Gries, the Punta del Castel, and the Basòdino. Near the lake stands the Rifugio Maria Luisa, and a botanical garden has been established. Created by the Alpe Veglia and Alpe Devero Natural Park, it is dedicated to the area's floristic peculiarities and can be visited via a thematic path called the sentiero fiorito.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Bacher, Angela (1995). Bärulussä (in Italian). Verbania: Tararà.
- ^ Desio, Ardito (1989). "Dighe di ritenuta e serbatoi artificiali" [Retaining Dams and Artificial Reservoirs]. Geologia applicata all'ingegneria [Applied Geology for Engineering] (in Italian). Hoepli. p. 883. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
- ^ Marzagalli, Maurizio. "Lago Castel". Retrieved December 23, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Il giardino botanico del Lago Castel" [The Botanical Garden of Lago Castel] (in Italian). Rifugi dell'Ossola. p. 72. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
External links
[edit]"Kastel". LIMNO - Database of Italian Lakes (Institute of Water Research, CNR). Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
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