Lac de Derborence
The Lac de Deborence is one of the youngest naturally formed lakes in Switzerland. It is located on the territory of the municipality in the Swiss Valais Conthey and, together with the Virgin forest surrounding a nature reserve of the Swiss Federation for Nature Conservation ( now Pro Natura ). The lake was created in 1749 by a landslide on the slope of the north of the lake by mountains Les Diablerets.
Geography
The Lac de Derborence lies on 1'499 meters above sea level. M. in the basin of Derborence. North of the lake extend the slopes of the Diablerets, the devil hills, east extends the Derbonnetal, west of the Chevilletal. The lake is fed by the streams Derbonne and Chevilleince, and flows as Derbonne to the east in the hallway La Liapey in the Lizerne. The more Dewatering occurs through the same Lizerne Valley on its stream, which flows into the Rhône after about sixteen kilometers in Ardon. The lake is dammed by boulders of rock avalanches from the years 1714 and in 1749.
A large part of a wall of rock broke in 1749 on the slopes of Diablerets at 1,900 m above sea level. M. from and shot into the basin. The 50 million cubic meters of rock covered an area of 5 square kilometers between the settlements Godet and Derborence. At 1500 meters this barrier built up over a width of 1800 meters of the lake. The boulder field, which rises some 100 meters, extends down the valley to a height of about 1,100 m above sea level. M. Through its extensive natural state of the lake changed from time to time and volume expansion.
The youngest jungle of Switzerland has developed on its shores and on the scree, which is now regarded as one of three still to be found in its original state. The poor accessibility and the history of the valley, the forest was managed only sporadically and is to a large part for nearly three hundred years in a natural state. By the landslides, large parts of the previous tree cover were destroyed. On the barren ground, consisting of gravel and silt of the dammed lake, only nourished by the rotting timber of the uprooted trees, a so-called pioneer forest developed. There are to be found mainly spruce here. In addition, there are also common larch and mountain pine pioneer tree species, willow and birch. Chance of trees are also to be found which survived the landslide, and in part more than six hundred years old. Still larger boulders dot can be seen that protrude from the forest. The lake can be reached from Conthey via a small road through the valley of Derborence. On its shores are today an inn and small weekend houses.
History
Before the landslide from September 23, 1714 lived in the valley of Derborence in the places Derborence and Godet some shepherds in mountain chalets. Two days after the disaster examined the then parish priest of Ardon the crash site on to expel the devil (the locals kept the landslide for a work of evil and called from now on the causal mountains that were previously called Rochers or Scex de Champ, so Diablerets mountains devil, or devil horns ), and reported that 55 alpine huts destroyed and 14 people have lost their lives.
The second landslide on June 23, 1749 another 40 alpine huts were destroyed. It caused 50 million cubic meters by cascading rock damming of the lake. For a long time the valley was shunned and hesitant people returned to the apparently haunted valley. Thus, a pristine flora could develop, unhindered by economic use. In 1911 the valley of Derborence was declared a hunting reserve.
1934 wrote the Vaudois writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz a novel, with the name Derborence, about the events of the landslide of 1714. 1956 a reserve of 29.7 ha area was set up on the jungle area around the lake. In 1958, the then Swiss Association for Nature Conservation, funded acquired by a Schokotaler action in favor of the reserve, the former municipality of forest land and established in 1961 a nature reserve around the lake one. 1985 Ramuz ' book under the same name was filmed as Derborence by director Francis Reusser.