Lac de Grand-Lieu

Prairies paturées de Saint-Mars de Coutais
Prairies paturées de Saint-Mars de Coutais
Prairies inondées de Saint-Lumine de Coutais
Caricaie sur le Lac de Grand-Lieu à La Chevrolière
Prairies inondées à Pont-Saint-Martin
Lac de Grand Lieu
Lac de Grand Lieu
Lac de Grand Lieu
Lac de Grand Lieu

Lac de Grand-Lieu

  • Country: 
    France
  • Site number: 
    714
  • Area: 
    6,523 ha
  • Designation date: 
    01-02-1995
  • Coordinates: 
    47°05'N 01°40'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

The Site is France’s largest natural lowland lake, with a surface that in winter reaches 6,300 hectares, when its meadows and other flood-prone areas are flooded, while in summer it shrinks to less than 3,000 ha during the low-water period. The Site hosts more than 1% of the global populations of northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), gadwall (Anas strepera), purple heron (Ardea purpurea), common pochard (Aythya ferina), whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida) and black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). It also supports almost 500 important plant species, including many that are nationally or regionally threatened or protected. Human activities include fishing, hunting and tourism, and also education and scientific studies. It is also important for its archaeological, historical and ethnographic values. Some alien invasive animal species might pose a threat to the ecosystem.

Administrative region: 
Pays de la Loire

  • National legal designation: 
    • Loi Littoral - Lac de Grand-Lieu
    • Réserve Naturelle Régionale - Lac de Grand-Lieu
    • Réserve naturelle Nationale - Lac de Grand-Lieu
    • Site Classé - Lac de Grand-Lieu
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    13-07-2023