| Lake of Sainte-Croix | |
| Pushpin Map: | France Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Location: | Var/Alpes-de-Haute-Provence |
| Coords: | 43.7636°N 6.1839°W |
| Type: | Reservoir |
| Inflow: | Verdon |
| Outflow: | Verdon |
| Catchment: | 1591km2 |
| Basin Countries: | France |
| Area: | 22km2 |
| Max-Depth: | 93m (305feet) |
| Volume: | 760e6m3 |
| Elevation: | 477m (1,565feet) |
| Cities: | Les Salles-sur-Verdon, Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, Bauduen |
The Lake of Sainte-Croix (French: Lac de Sainte-Croix, in French pronounced as /lak də sɛ̃tkʁwa/) is a reservoir in Southern France that was formed by the construction, between 1971 and 1974 (when it was put into service),[1] of a reinforced-concrete arch dam, the . It marks the departmental border between Var to the southeast and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the northwest.
The reservoir is fed by the Verdon river, at the outlet of the Verdon Gorge. It holds a maximum of 761 million cubic metres of water. The dam, which generates 142 million kWh of electricity per year, is 94 metres high, 7.5 metres thick at its base and 3 metres thick at its crest.
The village of Les Salles-sur-Verdon stands by the lake; it was rebuilt on the shore after the original lower village was destroyed to make room for the reservoir. Other villages around the lake are Bauduen and Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon. The lake comprises a sole island, the Île de Costebelle (Island of Costebelle), part of the commune of Les Salles-sur-Verdon.