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Miremont Webcam – Watch France’s Fades-Besserve Lake
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About this webcam
The Miremont Webcam looks out across the Fades-Besserve lake from its western shore, in the Combrailles country of the Puy-de-Dome. Water fills the middle of the frame and runs away between two steep ridges of oak and conifer, with a pale band of bare bank along each side marking how far the reservoir has been drawn down. A quiet road crosses the bottom of the shot. There is very little else in view, which is rather the point: this is a working hydroelectric lake in a thinly populated part of central France, and the interest lies in how it changes. The level rises and falls through the operating year, mist collects along the gorge on still mornings, and the woods on both slopes turn through the seasons.
About Miremont
Miremont is a commune of about 300 people, counted in 2023, spread across 36.79 square kilometers (14.20 square miles) in the Puy-de-Dome department of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. It belongs to the arrondissement of Riom and the canton of Saint-Ours. The ground rises from 500 to 727 meters (1,640 to 2,385 feet), averaging 613.5 meters (2,013 feet), and the operator puts the camera itself at 564 meters (1,850 feet). The commune’s own river is the Sioulet, and part of the western shore of the Fades-Besserve lake falls inside its boundary, along with the recreation ground that goes with it. The lakeside hamlet is Confolant, roughly 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) up the water from the dam.
The lake itself covers 385 hectares (951 acres) and runs about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) between La Chazotte and Les Fades. It is held back by the Barrage des Fades, 235 meters (771 feet) long and 63.5 meters (208 feet) high, which entered service in 1968 and still generates. The same gorge carries the Viaduc des Fades, 132.50 meters (435 feet) high and opened in 1909, which remains the tallest railway viaduct in France.
The village has more history than its population suggests. The Romanesque church of Saint-Bonnet dates from the twelfth century and was listed as a historic monument in 1962. The ruins of the medieval castle were listed separately in 1927. The Chateau de Miremont, also known as La Rochette, is a nineteenth century neo-Renaissance rebuild carried out in the manner of Viollet-le-Duc, and it has been privately owned since 1986.
Weather and Climate in Miremont
The climate here is temperate with cool summers and no dry season, the Koppen Cfb type. The annual mean sits at 9.7 C (49 F) across the 1971 to 2000 period, and the nearest reference station gives 9.5 C (49 F) for 1991 to 2020. About 15.7 C (28 F) separates the coldest month from the warmest, which puts midwinter monthly averages near 2 C (36 F) and high summer near 18 C (64 F). At 500 to 727 meters, frost is routine from late autumn into early spring, and snow can settle on the ridges. Winter pictures on the Miremont Webcam tend to be flat and grey, with bare oak on both slopes and the water a dull pewter.
Rain falls through the year rather than in a season, and there is a good deal of it: 1,049 millimeters (41 inches) annually for 1971 to 2000, and 1,026.1 millimeters (40 inches) at the reference station for 1991 to 2020. That is what keeps the gorge as green as it looks in summer. Spring returns to the slopes in stages, the lower woods leafing before the ridgetops. Summer afternoons are warm rather than hot. Autumn is usually the best month on camera, when oak and beech colour up and cool mornings leave mist sitting on the water until the sun clears the ridge. The bare band along the shoreline widens whenever the reservoir is drawn down, which follows the generating schedule rather than the calendar.
Things to Do Near Miremont
The lake is the reason most people come. Combrailles tourism signposts a discovery circuit around the Fades-Besserve lake that starts from Miremont and is laid out as a road cycling route, linking the shoreline villages on both banks. Miremont’s own waterside is at Confolant, where the commune keeps recreation facilities on the western shore. The Barrage des Fades is reached on the D62 between Saint-Priest-des-Champs and Les Ancizes-Comps, and the Viaduc des Fades is signed from Les Ancizes-Comps, where the scale of the 1909 structure is easier to judge from the valley floor than from the deck.
In the village there is the twelfth century church of Saint-Bonnet, the ruined feudal castle, and the museum called Retour sur le Passe, which reconstructs domestic life, schooling, clothing and the old trades of the Combrailles and opens from May to September. The Chateau de Miremont is in private hands, so it is an exterior view only.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Miremont located?
Miremont is a commune in the Puy-de-Dome department of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, in central France, within the arrondissement of Riom and the canton of Saint-Ours. It sits in the Combrailles, on the western side of the Fades-Besserve lake, at altitudes between 500 and 727 meters (1,640 and 2,385 feet).
What can you see on the Miremont Webcam?
The camera looks across the Fades-Besserve reservoir from its western shore, with wooded ridges rising on both sides and a road running along the foot of the frame. The width of the exposed shoreline changes as the lake level moves.
What is the weather like in Miremont?
Temperate with cool summers and rain in every month. The annual mean is 9.7 C (49 F), monthly averages run from around 2 C (36 F) in midwinter to around 18 C (64 F) in high summer, and annual rainfall is about 1,049 millimeters (41 inches).
What lake does the camera overlook?
The Fades-Besserve lake, a hydroelectric reservoir created by the Barrage des Fades. Part of its western shore lies inside the commune of Miremont.
How big is the Fades-Besserve lake?
It covers 385 hectares (951 acres) and stretches about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) between La Chazotte and Les Fades.
How tall is the Viaduc des Fades?
The viaduct stands 132.50 meters (435 feet) high. It opened in 1909 and is still the tallest railway viaduct in France.
When was the Barrage des Fades built?
The dam entered service in 1968. It measures 235 meters (771 feet) long and 63.5 meters (208 feet) high, and it still produces hydroelectric power.
What is the best time of day to watch the Miremont Webcam?
Morning, for the mist that often lies along the gorge before the sun reaches the water, and late afternoon in autumn, when low light picks out the colour on both slopes. France runs on Central European Time, one hour ahead of UTC and two in summer.
Source: Vision-Environnement