Along with the neighboring Amance and Temple lakes, it is part of the Orient Forest Regional Natural Park, from which it takes its name.

It is surrounded by five earth dams (at Géraudot, Chavaudon, Beaumont, la Morge and Mesnil-Saint-Père) totalling 5.7 km in length and up to 25 m in height.

From November 1 to June 30, water is removed from the Seine downstream of Bar-sur-Seine via a 13 km-long intake canal, when the river is at its highest level.

The watertight soils of the Champagne and Morvan regions were ideal for the creation of such a lake, and the idea of building a water reserve in the middle of the Oriental Forest emerged.

However, in the 1930s, the local political class fiercely opposed this "Parisian project", which would destroy a significant part of the Aube forest, which at the time had great economic potential.

The Public Territorial Basin Establishment decided to continue filling the Orient, Temple and Amance lakes up to a limit of 50 cm.

According to Natura 2000, this site is recognized as "a vast territory made up of several types of habitats (large forests, lakes, numerous ponds, meadows, farmland) in a very good state of conservation".

[20] The Natura 2000 network lists 107 bird species on the site, including the grey crane and several species of egret, godwit, woodcock, sandpiper, snipe, harrier, duck, sandpiper, stork, swan, falcon, scaup, gull, gannet, tern, merganser, heron, kite, gull, goose, woodpecker, loon, plover and teal.

More than 900 insect species can be found near the lake: 531 coleopterans, 295 lepidopterans, 45 odonates, 19 orthopterans, 14 trichopterans, two ephemeropterans and one dermapteran.

[21] The lake is home to 17 species of fish, including roach, tench, perch, trout, zander and carp.

This area has three observatories where you can discover, in semi-liberty, the mammals living in the Oriental Forest: deer, roe, wild boar, as well as a few Heck's goldbuck, elk and konik polski tarpan.

[23] In terms of flora, the reserve boasts over 400 plant species in the surrounding forests, 176 of which are due to the lakes.

A number of remarkable species can be found here, such as purple loosestrife, grass-leaved alisma, water limosella and scorodoine germander.

[25] In spring and summer, you can enjoy a wide range of water sports, including scuba diving, canoeing, kayaking, pedal boating, windsurfing and keelboating.

Beyond the park, the city of Troyes, administrative center of the department, is known for its rich medieval heritage and its factory outlets, in some ways the legacy of the Champagne trade fairs that made it prosperous in the 11th and 13th centuries.

Attracting almost a million visitors a year, it is another of the great Seine lakes built to protect Paris from flooding.