Barma Lake

About

The Barma Lake (in French Lac de Barme) is a natural lake of glacial origin located at an altitude of 2,020 m a.s.l. in the Lys Valley, in Aosta Valley.

The term barma (or balma, French: balme) indicates a rock shelter in Valdôtain patois.

The lake is located in the municipality of Fontainemore, at the center of a basin dominated to the south by Mont Mars. Just north of the main body of water is a smaller body of water, called Upper Barma Lake, at an altitude of 2,032 m. Near the lake, there is also an alpine pasture and—at 2,060 m altitude—the Barma Hut, a recently built stone structure owned by the municipality of Fontainemore.

The lake can be reached by a marked trail starting from Fontainemore and passing near the lower Vargno Lake. The Barma basin is also connected via the Barma Pass to the Sanctuary of Oropa. Every five years, the Fontainemore to Oropa Procession passes by the lake.

The Barma Lake and the surrounding area are part of the Mont Mars Nature Reserve.

"Carta dei sentieri della Provincia di Biella 1:25.000" [Trail map of the Province of Biella 1:25,000] (in Italian). Provincia di Biella. 2004. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019. "Cartografia ufficiale italiana dell'Istituto Geografico Militare (IGM) in scala 1:25.000 e 1:100.000" [Official Italian cartography of the Istituto Geografico Militare (IGM) at scales 1:25,000 and 1:100,000] (in Italian). Istituto Geografico Militare. Retrieved 5 November 2019. Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 9 Ivrea, Biella e Bassa Valle d'Aosta [Map of trails and refuges scale 1:50,000 no. 9 Ivrea, Biella, and Lower Valle d'Aosta] (in Italian). Torino: Istituto Geografico Centrale.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.