Gignoux Lake
Interactive map of Gignoux Lake
Location	France
Coordinates	44°54′01.81″N 6°45′57.92″E / 44.9005028°N 6.7660889°E / 44.9005028; 6.7660889

Gignoux Lake (Occitan: Lac de Gignoux) (2329 m above sea level), also known as the Seven Colors Lake, is located in France in the Provence-Alps-French Riviera region at the border with the Susa Valley (Piedmont) territory. The lake is in the French department of the Upper Alps, to the east of Mount Chenaillet (2650 m a.s.l.) and to the north of the Cerveyrette Valley.^[1]

The lake covers an area of about 2 hectares. The Cima Saurel (2449 m a.s.l.) and the Mount Gimont (2648 m a.s.l.) form the northern side of the lake and are part of the border with Italy.^[2] The lake is set in an arid landscape with a view of Cervières (1620 m a.s.l.), the Chaberton (3 131 m a.s.l.) and the Fonts Valley.^[1]

Gignoux Lake is located in a habitat formed by scree and moraine. With basalt and gabbro outlining an oceanic crust, a sign of a deep (3,000 m) and ancient ocean (150 million years ago): the Ligurian Tethys also called the Piedmont-Liguria Ocean (a paleo-ocean).^[3]

The site has 14 important plant species. Among these, 4 are protected nationally and 7 only in the Provence-Alps-French Riviera region:^[4]

• Mud sedge (Carex limosa)
• Sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata)
• Aethionema thomasianum
• Lesser Bladderwort (Utricularia minor)
• Water pesse (Hippuris vulgaris)
• Berardia (Berardia subacaulis)
• Rolland's bulrush (Trichophorum pumilum)
• Artemisia atrata
• Androsace septentrionalis
• The Alpine mock privet (Chamorchis alpina)
• Alpine water lentil (Potamogeton alpinus)
• Cardamine Plumieri (Cardamine plumieri)
• Two-stemmed carex (Carex diandra)
• Alpine rush (Trichophorum alpinum)

Among mammals, the most present species is the deer. Among nesting bird species, there are the common quail, the Ortolan bunting, the rock partridge and the black grouse.^[4]

• Provence-Alps-French Riviera
• Upper Alps
• Susa Valley
• Cerveyrette

1. ^ ^{a b} Il lago Gignoux (dei 7 colori) | Una meraviglia tra le Alte Alpi, su Zen Hikers, 29 agosto 2022. URL consultato il 29 agosto 2022.
2. ^ Le lac Gignoux, le lac Noir et le lac des Sarailles : randonnée dans la vallée de la Cerveyrette, su www.photos-provence.fr. URL consultato il 29 agosto 2022.
3. ^ Lac Gignoux (2329m) (Briançonnais, Hautes-Alpes), su www.lacsdemontagne.fr. URL consultato il 30 agosto 2022.
4. ^ ^{a b} Emeric DROUOT, Jean-Charles VILLARET, Luc GARRAUD, Stéphane BELTRA, Alisson LECLERE, Sylvain ABDULHAK, Lionel QUELIN, Sonia RICHAUD, Jérémie VAN ES, VERSANT ADRET DE LA CERVEYRETTE, DU LAC DES SARAILLES AUX TRAVERSES - VERSANT SUD-EST DU CHENAILLET (PDF).[1]

• Wikimedia Commons contains images or other files about Gignoux Lak