[2] It was patently known to whalers as early as the 19th century, for Captain Joseph J. Fuller in his memoirs described a large lake, at the back of the Royal Bay,[3] the circumference of which was about 15 miles.

[5][6] This great lake was first officially mentioned by Edgar Aubert de la Rüe when he reported on his expeditions to Kerguelen in 1928–1929 and 1931.

[1] Even before the lake was mapped, navigators (especially those of the Challenger expedition in 1874), had pointed out at the northern entrance of the outlet a remarkable green hillock, the "Morne Vert".

[1] Many waterflows complete this contribution, descending from the Azorella's hills or from the Hautes Mares to the north and from Mount Peeper to the south.

[2] The lake's watershed, the largest in the Kerguelen archipelago on par with that of the system formed by the Clarée and the Rivière des Galets, covers an area of 250 km2 (97 sq mi).

Brown trout (Salmo trutta), in particular those released into the Rivière du Château, colonized the entire drainage system of the peninsula thanks to their marine migratory form.