Bankhead Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

along the

Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the Bl ...

that begins in Walker County in the state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. The lake forms the border between

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

and

Tuscaloosa County Tuscaloosa County is a county in the northwest-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama and is the center of commerce, education, industry, health care, and entertainment for the region. The county's population was 227,036 as of the 2020 c ...

, as well as the border dividing

and Walker County. It eventually empties into Holt Lake. Bankhead Lock and Dam and its reservoir is a project of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, while

Alabama Power Company Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.4 million customers in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It also operates appliance stores. It is one ...

owns and operates the adjoining hydroelectric generating plant. Both facilities are named for Alabama Senator

John H. Bankhead John Hollis Bankhead (September 13, 1842March 1, 1920) was a Democratic U.S. Senator from the state of Alabama between 1907 and 1920. Life and career Bankhead was born on September 13, 1842, at Moscow, present-day Lamar County, Alabama (near ...

. The reservoir has a capacity of , with normal storage of . The original Bankhead Dam was built in 1915 as the last of an entire navigation system of 17 locks and dams between Mobile and Birmingham. Alabama Power's hydropower facility was installed on the right bank in 1963. As of March 1969, Bankhead was the last of those original 17 still in service, but was deemed by the Corps of Engineers structurally unsafe and at risk of collapse. The current lock, 77 feet high and 1,400 feet long at its crest, was completed in 1975. Some of the original dam structure still exists as part of the complex but is not accessible.http://cweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/al/al1200/al1224/data/al1224data.pdf

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* {{authority control Bodies of water of Jefferson County, Alabama Reservoirs in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Reservoirs in Alabama Bodies of water of Walker County, Alabama Dams in Alabama Hydroelectric power plants in Alabama United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1915 Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama Alabama Power dams

See also

References

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