Camping Landes » The fabulous history of Lake Sanguinet

The fabulous history of Lake Sanguinet

You can’t get enough of Lake Sanguinet.

Day, night, bad weather, good weather, cold or hot… the lake is always magnificent.

And if you want to know more about its history, keep reading this article:

The history of Lac Sanguinet

Lac de Sanguinet et Cazaux is one of the largest lakes in the Landes region. It lies along the Aquitaine coast, in the Gironde and Landes departments, from the town of Cazaux to La Teste de Buch, east to Sanguinet and south to Biscarosse.

It was formed by the accumulation of water from the Landes plain, in particular from the Gourgue river, where the ancient village of Losa was settled before disappearing under the waters.

Lac de Sanguinet fact sheet

Type of lake : natural lowland lake

Public lake :

2,300 ha are managed by the Sanguinet AAPPMA.

The rest is managed by the AAPPMA of Biscarosse on the southern part of the lake, and by the Cazaux fishing association on the northern part.

Filled with water: Hundreds of thousands of years ago

Year(s) the lake was drained : This natural lake has never been drained.

Water hardness (indicator of water mineralization) : hard to very hard

Night fishing is authorized: No

Altitude : 22 meters

Surface area: Lake with a surface area of 5,500 hectares and 500 million M3.

11 km long and 10 km wide

Depth / Topography :

Depth almost nil on shore, reaching a gentle slope of 3 to 7 metres from 50 metres out.

The maximum depth is 23 metres, with an average of 8.6 metres.

The record(s) :

A 26.46kg common carp caught in 1994, never returned to the lake.

Latest record: a common carp weighing 29 kg.

(Sources : Colinmaire )

Lake Sanguinet is full of wonderful things and stories.

Since the 1970s, the Sanguinet site has been progressively explored and meticulously measured. Divers from CRESS (Centre de Recherches et d’Etudes Scientifiques de Sanguinet) have identified several Iron Age sites in the ancient bed of the Gourgue. They discovered 35 pirogues (two of which are in the museum) and numerous relics representing an incredible wealth.

They discovered pottery fragments, flints, axes and bronze bracelets in the lake in 2010, at a depth of between 14 and 16 metres. These objects date back to Neolithic times.

Sports activities at the lake

Lac de Sanguinet is not only a thriving source of fishing, but also an ideal place for exercise and sport.

Many water sports are available on the lake:

  • Windsurfing
  • Figure skating
  • Wakesurf
  • Water skiing
  • Barefoot
  • Windsurfing
  • Candle
  • Canoeing
  • Sport diving

If you haven’t visited Lac Sanguinet yet, come and see us this summer!