Dating recent lake sediment records yielding disturbed 210Pb profiles has been a problem of wide interest in palaeoclimatic and palaeoseismic studies over the last few centuries. When applied to an alpine lake sedimentary record, a high‐resolution sedimentological study reveals that the 210Pb profile is disturbed by the occurrence of single‐event deposits triggered by two different mechanisms: flood events deposits and gravity reworking. Removing disturbed layers from the 210Pb profile yields a logarithmic depth–activity relationship. Using a simple 210Pb decay model (CFCS) provides an assessment of mean accumulation rate of `continuous sedimentation', as opposed to `event‐linked sedimentation'. The correlation of the thickest four gravity‐reworked deposits with historically known earthquakes permits both validation and refinement of the age–depth relationship. This refinement highlights variations in accumulation rate consistent with post‐Little Ice Age climatic variations.

Sediment archives from a mountain lake are used as indicators of seismotectonic activity in the Grenoble area (French western Alps, 45°N). Sedimentological analysis (texture and grain‐size characteristics) exhibits several layers resulting from instantaneous deposits in Lake Laffrey: six debris flow events up to 8 cm thick can be attributed to slope failure along the western flank of the basin. Dating with 210Pb and 137Cs gamma counting techniques and the reconnaissance of historical events, provide a constrained age‐depth model. Over the last 250 years, five of such debris flow deposits could be related to historical earthquakes of MSK intensities greater than VI over an area of <60 km. One debris flow deposit triggered at the beginning of the last century can be related to an historical landslide possibly triggered by the artificial regulation of the lake level.

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