Lake Barkley, 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 control ...

in Livingston County, Lyon County and

Trigg County Trigg County is a county located on the far southwestern border of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,061. Its county seat is Cadiz. Formed in 1820, the county was named for Stephen Trigg, an officer in th ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

and extending into Stewart County and Houston County in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of

Barkley Dam Barkley Dam is a dam along the Cumberland River in Kentucky. Its construction along with Kentucky Dam formed the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBLNRA) by stopping the flow of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, forming Lake Ba ...

. Both the lake and the dam are named for Vice President Alben Barkley, a Kentucky native. The dam impounds the Cumberland River near Grand Rivers, Kentucky, approximately upstream from where the Cumberland empties into the Ohio River. One mile (1.6 km) above the dam is a canal connecting Lake Barkley with Kentucky Lake, forming one of the greatest freshwater recreational complexes in the country. The lakes run parallel courses for more than , with the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area located between them. Lake Barkley is long with a shoreline measuring . The lake's level is maintained at different levels throughout the year for

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

purposes. Summer pool,

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

, is normally reached by May 1. The water level begins dropping gradually on July 1, and winter pool (354 ft/107 m) is reached by December 1. The spring rise starts April 1. The lake's water surface area varies accordingly from 57,920 acres (234 km²) at summer pool to 45,210 acres (183 km²) at winter pool.

History

As with the formation of Kentucky Lake, communities were flooded in the 1960s to build Lake Barkley. Locals often refer to "Old Eddyville" for Eddyville and "Old Kuttawa" for Kuttawa. The "Old" areas were the portions of the cities that were left above the water after the areas were flooded; these old areas are now lakefront. The present-day cities were created on nearby sites after the lake was impounded. Old foundations and streets, previously flooded, are still visible during winter pool. Highways were even relocated, including US 68 and US 62, along with state routes and smaller streets. The

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also ...

was also relocated; the former alignment can still be seen under water from low flying planes above. The area was significantly damaged by a violent EF4 tornado on December 10, 2021. The State Park lodges were opened to house area residents whose homes were destroyed.

Recreation

Lake Barkley State Resort Park is located on the eastern shore of the lake. The largest yellow bass ever taken in Kentucky (1 lb., 1 oz.) was caught in the waters of Lake Barkley. In 2019 officials started to aggressively deal with the invasion of Asian carp into Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. The state is using electo-shock fishing and sonic devices and hope to remove 5 million pounds of the species a year

References

External links

LakeBarkley.org Official web site of Lake BarkleyLake Barkley
– U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
KentuckyLake.com
Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake & Land Between the Lakes Information
Facilities map of Lake Barkley (Kentucky side)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkley 1966 establishments in Kentucky Reservoirs in Kentucky Reservoirs in Tennessee Protected areas of Houston County, Tennessee Protected areas of Stewart County, Tennessee Protected areas of Livingston County, Kentucky Protected areas of Lyon County, Kentucky Protected areas of Trigg County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Houston County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Stewart County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Livingston County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Lyon County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Trigg County, Kentucky Cumberland River

History

Recreation

See also

References

External links