Bull Shoals Lake is an artificial lake or

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 ...

in the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

of northern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and southern

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. It has hundreds of miles of lake arms and coves, and common activities include boating, water sports, swimming, and fishing. Nineteen developed parks around the shoreline provide campgrounds, boat launches, swim areas, and marinas.

History

Bull Shoals Dam Bull Shoals Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the White River in northern Arkansas in the United States. The dam lies on the border of Marion and Baxter Counties, and forms Bull Shoals Lake, which extends well northwest into Missouri. Its main p ...

was created to impound the White River by one of the largest concrete

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

s in the United States and the 5th largest dam in the world at its inception. Work on the dam began in 1947, was completed in 1951 and dedicated by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in 1952. At least seven small family cemeteries and 20 larger cemeteries were meticulously relocated to accommodate the new lake. Recent national events include Brostock 2010 and 2011 and the TBF Bass Federation and Bassmaster Elite Series Tournaments in 2012.

Hydrology

Bull Shoals Lake impounds the White River for the last time as water travels toward its mouth on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Bull Shoals is thus the lake farthest downstream in a chain of four artificial lakes that include (from upstream to downstream) Beaver Lake,

Table Rock Lake Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas in the United States. Designed, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam ...

and

Lake Taneycomo Lake Taneycomo is a man-made lake or reservoir on the White River in the Ozark Mountains of Taney County, Missouri. The reservoir's name is a portmanteau for the county and state in which it is located: ''Taney Co''unty, ''MO''. Lake Taneyco ...

. The lake is controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers and has the primary purpose of flood control. The level of the lake fluctuates regularly with a normal pool level elevation of 654 feet above sea level, which is locally known as powerpool. However, the lake regularly fluctuates between an elevation of 630 to 680 feet. The upper part of the lake, below nearby

Powersite Dam Powersite Dam is a hydroelectric dam that went into service in 1913 in Forsyth, Missouri. It is found along the White River, and the reservoir it forms is Lake Taneycomo. It was the first hydroelectric dam built in Missouri. Designed in 1911 b ...

, is known as the "Pothole". The shoreline of the lake is totally undeveloped and protected by a buffer zone (locally called the “take line”) owned, operated, managed, and controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is designed for a maximum elevation of 695 feet (top of the flood pool). Bull Shoals Lake covers 45,000 acres (182 km²) with a 700-mile (1,120-km) shoreline at powerpool to more than 70,000 acres (284 km²)with a 1,000-mile (1,600-km) shoreline at 690 feet. The bottom of the lake consists of bedrock with very limited vegetation. The shoreline is heavily forested.

State park

The Bull Shoals-White River State Park is a 725-acre (2.9 km²) park in Baxter and Marion Counties of Arkansas both above and below the massive dam. Facilities, including camping, pavilions, dock and interpretive programs, stretch along the banks of the White River. Along the lakeshore, the park offers picnic sites and playgrounds.

Flooding of 2008

In the spring of 2008, due to the record rainfall, Bull Shoals reached its highest water level since 1957. The lake crested at 695.02 feet above sea level, prompting the Army Corps of Engineers to open the floodgates to relieve the lake from further flooding. A record crest of 696.51 was achieved at 5 p.m. Friday May 27, 2011 due to record rainfall, exceeding the Spring 2008 lake levels and 1957 levels.

References

External links