Lake Servières is one of the many lakes of Auvergne, which is home to more than 60 of them, scattered in the four departments of Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, and Puy-de-Dôme. Although swimming is not always allowed in their waters, the lakes form providential oases in the region. Auvergne is indeed distant of more than 186 miles (300 km) from the sea and is subject to a potentially very hot continental climate in summer.