Kentucky Lake

This article is about the lake in the United States. For the lake in Canada, see Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park.

Kentucky Lake
Location	Kentucky / Tennessee
Coordinates
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	United States

Aerial view of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Kentucky Lake is on the left. The canal connecting Lake Barkley to Kentucky Lake is visible at left-center.

Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. Created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River by Kentucky Dam, the 160,309-acre (649 km²) lake is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the United States east of the Mississippi River, with 2,064 miles of shoreline, (though not the largest by volume; Lake Cumberland holds that distinction). Kentucky Lake has a flood storage capacity of 4,008,000 acre-feet, more than 2.5 times of the next largest lake in the TVA system.

It provides a source for hydro-electric power and, as one of the lakes alluded to by the name of Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, is a recreational magnet in western Kentucky and Tennessee.

Recreation

The lake holds records for the largest of three species of fish ever taken in Kentucky: white bass (5 lb.), Buffalo carp (55 lb.), and yellow perch (1 lb., 4 oz). It is also the major attraction for two Kentucky state parks: Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park to the north and Kenlake State Resort Park to the west.

See also

• Dams and reservoirs of the Tennessee River
• Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area
• Kenlake State Resort Park
• Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
• Eggner Ferry Bridge

External links

• Visitor's guide by Marshall County, Kentucky Tourist Commission
• KentuckyLake.com Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkely & Land Between the Lakes Information
• KentuckyLake.TV Collection of informational videos on Kentucky Lake
• LBLGuide.com Informational site about Kentucky Lake and the Land Between the Lakes area