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 contro ...

in Livingston County, Lyon County and Trigg County in

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 Virginia to ...

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 th ...

, was impounded by the

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

in 1966 upon the completion of Barkley Dam. Both the lake and the dam are named for

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Alben Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presid ...

, a Kentucky native. The dam impounds the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

near

Grand Rivers, Kentucky Grand Rivers is a home rule-class city in Livingston County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 382 at the 2010 census, up from 343 in 2000. It is part of the Paducah micropolitan area. Geography Grand Rivers is located at (3 ...

, approximately upstream from where the Cumberland empties into the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. One mile (1.6 km) above the dam is a canal connecting Lake Barkley with

Kentucky Lake Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. It was created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River via Kentucky Dam for flood control and hydroelectric p ...

, 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 comb ...

, 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

, 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 U.S. Route 68 (US 68) is a United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its present northern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio, though ...

and

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

, 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 co ...

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 Lake Barkley State Resort Park is a park on the eastern shore of Lake Barkley just west of Cadiz, Kentucky in Trigg County. The park encompasses and is one of three Kentucky parks near Land Between the Lakes, a isthmus between Kentucky Lake ...

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