An artificial lake of eleven square kilometers, Qaraoun was created by the Litani River Dam in 1959. The Litani is Lebanon’s largest river, rising near Baalbeck and flowing for 160 kilometers through the Beqaa Valley to the coast north of Tyre.
The dam holding back this major river is 60 meters high and 1,350 meters in length

A gallery of 6,503 meters carries the water to the underground hydroelectric station where transformers produce a maximum of 185 megawatts. The dam will eventually provide irrigation for 31,000 hectares of farmland in South Lebanon and 8,000 hectares in the Beqaa Valley. Visitors are welcome to the Litani Dam. The office is at the southern (dam) end of the lake on the left side. The lake area has a hotel and a number of restaurants specializing in fresh trout.

.