Winthrop Rockefeller Lake is an impounded section of the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
, named for
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Winthrop A. Rockefeller (1912–1973). It extends almost along the river, from the Arthur V. Ormond Lock and Dam () below Mile 177 near
Morrilton, to the Dardanelle Lock and Dam () above Mile 205 near
Dardanelle.
Lake Dardanelle
Lake Dardanelle is a major reservoir on the Arkansas River in Arkansas, USA. and is an integral part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), which allows barge transportation from the Mississippi River to the Tulsa Port o ...
(el. ) begins immediately above Rockefeller Lake.
The Arkansas River lakes have been popular with fishermen because of their large supply of catfish, white bass, bream, crappie, and other species of bass. Fishing is not the only reason for visitors, however;
Petit Jean Mountain
Petit Jean State Park is a park in Conway County, Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. It is located atop Petit Jean Mountain adjacent to the Arkansas River in the area between the Ouachita Mountains and Ozark Platea ...
is close to the area and provides scenic views for visitors along the lake. The
Ozark
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 ...
and
Ouachita Mountains
The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...
also offer great scenery and have mountain springs and recreation parks in abundance. The mountains of the Ozarks and Ouachitas are abundant in wildlife. The
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
often uses this area for wintering. Eagles can be seen here from late fall through early spring.
See also
*
List of Arkansas dams and reservoirs
Following is a list of dams and reservoirs in Arkansas.
All major dams are linked below. The National Inventory of Dams defines any "major dam" as being tall with a storage capacity of at least , or of any height with a storage capacity of .
Da ...
External links
Lake Dardanelle and Winthrop Rockefeller Lake
Protected areas of Conway County, Arkansas
Protected areas of Pope County, Arkansas
Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to:
People with the name Rockefeller fa ...
Protected areas of Yell County, Arkansas
Buildings and structures in Conway County, Arkansas
Buildings and structures in Pope County, Arkansas
Buildings and structures in Yell County, Arkansas
Dams in Arkansas
United States Army Corps of Engineers dams
Bodies of water of Conway County, Arkansas
Bodies of water of Pope County, Arkansas
Bodies of water of Yell County, Arkansas
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