Émosson Dam

The Lac d'Émosson (French pronunciation: [lak demɔsɔ̃], "Lake Émosson") is a reservoir in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is located in the municipalities of Salvan and Finhaut. The closest small city in Switzerland is Martigny. The lake has a surface area of 3.27 km2 and an elevation of 1,930 m. The maximum depth is 180 meters. The purpose of the Émosson Dam is hydroelectric power generation. Water from the reservoir first powers the 189 MW Vallorcine Power Station downstream and just over the border in Vallorcine, France. Water is then sent through a headrace tunnel to the 190 MW La Bâtiaz Power Station, 12 km (7 mi) to the east in Martigny, Switzerland. The drop between the dam and La Bâtiaz Power Station is 1,400 m (4,593 ft). The first dam of Émosson (also known as Barberine Dam) was built in 1925. The current dam with a height of 180 m was constructed between 1969 and August 1973 and floods the old dam. The reservoir was fully impounded on 10 September 1975, it increased the reservoir's volume from 40 million m³ to 227 million m³. The old dam can still be seen when the water level in the Lac d'Émosson is very low. The lake serves as the lower reservoir for the 900 MW Nant de Drance Hydropower Plant which began operations in 2022. In 1955, another dam was built 300m higher above the now existing lake. This lake is now known as the Lac du Vieux Émosson. The dam can be reached by road or by a funicular-train-funicular trip. The Funiculaire du Châtelard is the first used from the valley bottom, it is the steepest 2-cabin funicular railway in the world with a gradient of 87 percent. Mini-Funiculaire d'Emosson runs next to the dam with a maximum incline of 73% for a difference of elevation of 140 m. At the top of this funicular there is access to a 450m zipline across the dam's face.

The Nant de Drance Hydropower Plant is a pumped-storage power station in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is within the municipality of Finhaut, district of Saint-Maurice and about 14 km (8.7 mi) southwest of Martigny. Construction on the power plant began in 2008 and it began operations in 2022. It is owned by Nant de Drance SA, a consortium of Alpiq (39%), SBB (36%), Industrielle Werke Basel (15%) and Forces Motrices Valaisannes (FMV) (10%). The US$1.9 billion plant has an installed capacity of 900 MW and an energy storage capacity of 20 GWh.

Le Châtelard VS railway station (French: Gare de Le Châtelard VS) is a railway station in the municipality of Finhaut, in the Swiss canton of Valais. It is an intermediate stop and a request stop on the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge Martigny–Châtelard line of Transports de Martigny et Régions. The station is adjacent to the valley station of the Funiculaire du Châtelard to Lac d'Émosson.

Le Châtelard (altitude 1,120 m or 3,675 ft) is a locality in the canton of Valais, Switzerland near the border with France. It is part of the municipality of Finhaut.

The Fontanabran (French pronunciation: [fɔ̃tanabʁɑ̃]) is a mountain in the Chablais Alps in Switzerland.

Finhaut is a municipality in the district of Saint-Maurice in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

Finhaut railway station (French: Gare de Finhaut) is a railway station in the municipality of Finhaut, in the Swiss canton of Valais. It is located on the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge Martigny–Châtelard line of Transports de Martigny et Régions.

The Tour Sallière (French pronunciation: [tuʁ saljɛʁ]) is a mountain of the Chablais Alps, that is overlooking the lake of Salanfe in the Swiss canton of Valais.

Pic de Tenneverge is a mountain of the Chablais Alps, located between the French department of Haute-Savoie and the Swiss canton of Valais. Its summit is 2,985 metre-high and lies within France, 300 metres west of the border with Switzerland (2,951 m). The mountain is located between Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval (France) and Lac d'Emosson (Switzerland).

Mont Ruan (or Grand Mont Ruan) is a mountain in the Chablais Alps, overlooking the lake of Emosson in the Swiss canton of Valais. At 3,057 metres (10,030 feet) above sea level, its main summit is located 200 metres (660 feet) away from the French border, where lies a slightly lower summit at 3,044 metres (9,987 feet). Mont Ruan is the westernmost mountain rising above 3,000 metres (9,800 feet). in Switzerland.

Col des Montets (elevation 1,461 m or 4,793 ft) is a mountain pass in the French Alps in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is on the road between Chamonix, the Swiss Col de la Forclaz and Martigny in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The pass is generally open in winter, but it can be closed in extreme weather and frequently requires snow chains and/or winter tires. Conditions can be checked with Chamonix tourist office. The railway tunnel of the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway has been modified to also carry road traffic on a convoy basis between trains when the pass is closed. Elizabeth Robins Pennell bicycled through the pass in the 1890s.The pass appeared in the Tour de France five times from 1959 to 1977: Charly Gaul was the first rider to cross the pass in 1959.

The Luisin (French pronunciation: [lɥizɛ̃]) is a mountain of the Chablais Alps, overlooking Les Marécottes in the canton of Valais. It lies east of the Tour Sallière, on the range between the lake of Salanfe and the valley of Trient.