Lac de Moiry

The Moiry dam, 148 metres high, was completed in 1958 and holds back a lake of about 1.4 square kilometres and up to 120 metres deep at about twenty-two hundred and fifty metres, fed directly by the Moiry glacier at the head of the valley. Because the inflow is glacial meltwater carrying rock flour, the colour is a strong opaque turquoise that intensifies through the summer as melt increases - it is at its most saturated in July and August and much duller in early season. The road crosses the dam and continues to a car park below the glacier, where a path climbs to a viewpoint and the Cabane de Moiry. The glacier has retreated substantially and the walk to the hut now crosses ground that was under ice within living memory.

What's there

• Opaque turquoise water - rock flour straight off the glacier above.
• A 1958 dam - the road crossing its crest.
• The Moiry glacier - at the head, well back from its old position.
• The Cabane de Moiry path - climbing over recently deglaciated ground.

When to go

Late June to October; July and August for the strongest colour. Half a day.

Before you go

The road closes for winter and opens late. Colour is weak in early season before the melt gets going. There is no shelter at the lake beyond the dam kiosk. The hut walk is steep and rough.

Nearby

Grimentz is below; Zinal is in the neighbouring branch of Anniviers.

Key facts