The lake of Pilato is situated at 1941 meters above sea level, in a valley shaped by ice, in the Mt. Vettore. Placed in a north-sud direction, it has changing shape and size, depending on the volume of water coming from rainfall and thaw.

When there is plenty of water, the lake is glasses shaped, with a bottleneck created by detritus. With the decrease of the water, the detritus emerge, and the lake is divided into two circular ponds, having a largest diameter of more than 300 meters and a smallest of almost 100 meters. The maximum depth is 9 meters.

The whole area of the Lake of Pilato has a immeasurable value, many are the varieties of vegetation growing at high altitudes, especially in the scree slopes. In the basin of the lake you can admire the Alpine Camedrio, the snow Gentian, the Edelweiss of the Apennines, the Silene Alpina, the Salice Herbaceous, the Yellow Poppy of the Apennines. It is not difficult to meet birds as the Alpine Chaffinch and the Kestrel in the area.

However, it is up to the waters of the lake to preserve the most important of its treasures, the endemic crustacean, the Chirocephalus Marchesonii.