Lake Qaraoun (Arabic: بحيرة القرعون / ALA-LC: Buḥayrat al-Qara‘ūn) is an artificial lake or reservoir located in the southern region of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. It was created near Qaraoun village in 1959 by building a 61 m-high (200 ft) concrete-faced rockfill dam (the Albert Naccache dam which is the largest dam in Lebanon) in the middle reaches of the Litani River (longest river in Lebanon).
Localisation
The reservoir has been used for hydropower generation (190 MW or 250,000 hp), domestic water supply, and for irrigation of 27,500 ha (68,000 acres). The annual surface water flow in the Litani River received at Lake Qaraoun is 420×10^6 m3 (15×10^9 cu ft). This flow is used for generating hydroelectric power of 600 GWh at three hydroelectric power stations at Markaba, Awali and Jun with the total installed capacity of 190 MW (250,000 hp). During the dry season, 30×10^6 m3 (1.1×10^9 cu ft) of water is diverted from Markaba power station to meet the needs of the Kassmieh irrigation project. The lake is a habitat for some 20,000 migratory birds which visit it annually.