Madine Lake extends in the heart of the Lorraine Regional Nature Park and is part of the Woëvre plain. This vast area was marshy for centuries, but Cistercian monks contributed to its sanitation from the 12th century. They drained its waters and created channels and fish ponds until plantations were possible in the plain. Now fertile, it is still frequented by a great diversity of bird species for reproduction, migration, and wintering. It serves as a hunting ground for the nationally protected forest cat, and numerous populations of crested newts and green tree frogs dwell in its ponds.