This list of lakes in France roughly distinguishes three categories: the mountain lakes, sorted first by massif, and then by départements; the lakes in plains, sorted by river basin; and the coastal lakes.
Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), the largest in western Europe with 582 km2 (225 sq mi), partly in France, partly in Switzerland, is listed in Haute-Savoie for its French part.
Mountain lakes
The lakes of mountain massifs can be natural, often of glaciary origin (G), or volcanic (V), or artificial, generally built for hydraulic energy purposes (H) or flow regulation (F).
