The Lake of Sainte-Croix (français. lac de Sainte-Croix) is a man-made lake that was formed by the construction, between 1971 and 1974 (when it was put into service) of a reinforced-concrete arch dam by the name of Dam of Sainte-Croix (français. Barrage de Sainte-Croix). The reservoir holds a maximum of 761 million cubic metres of water. The dam, which generates 142 million kWh of electricity per year, is 94 metres high, 7.5 metres thick at its base and 3 metres thick at its crest.
The village that can be seen adjacent to the lake, however, is not the eponymous village of Sainte-Croix-de-Verdon but Les Salles-sur-Verdon. The original village is now completely underwater.
The other villages around the lake are: