Kentucky Lake is a major

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...

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

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It was created in 1944 by the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

's impounding of the Tennessee River via

Kentucky Dam Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Aut ...

for flood control and hydroelectric power. The lake is the largest

artificial lake 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 ...

by surface area in the United States east of 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 fl ...

, with of shoreline. Nearby

Lake Barkley Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston County, Lyon County and Trigg County in Kentucky and extending into Stewart County and Houston County in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of Bark ...

is larger by volume. Kentucky Lake has a flood storage capacity of , more than 2.5 times the next largest lake in the TVA system. It provides a source for

hydro-electric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

power. Also, as one of the lakes alluded to by the name of Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, it is a recreational destination of western

and

Recreation

The lake is a desirable fishing area. Records for the largest of three species of fish ever taken in Kentucky have been set at this lake:

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white ...

(), Buffalo carp (), and

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

(). It is also the major attraction for two

Kentucky state parks Maintained by the Kentucky Department of Parks, Kentucky's system of 49 state parks has been referred to as "the nation's finest" and experiences more repeat business annually than those of any other U.S. state. The state's diverse geography provi ...

Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park is a Kentucky state park located on the northern shore of Kentucky Lake in Marshall County. The park encompasses and is one of the state's more popular resort parks. The park features a convention center, 1 ...

to the north and

Kenlake State Resort Park Kenlake State Resort Park is a park located on the western shore of Kentucky Lake. The park's main entrance and most of its facilities are located in Marshall County; the park also extends into Calloway County. The mailing address of the park is ...

to the west.

References

External links

Visitor's guide
by

Marshall County, Kentucky Marshall County is a county located in far western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,659. Its county seat is Benton. It is the only Purchase Area county that does not border another state; a ...

Tourist Commission
KentuckyLake.com
Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkely & Land Between the Lakes Information
KentuckyLake.TV
Collection of informational videos on Kentucky Lake
LBLGuide.com
Informational site about Kentucky Lake and the Land Between the Lakes area
Kentucky Lake Guide by KFW
{{authority control 1944 establishments in Kentucky 1944 establishments in Tennessee Reservoirs in Kentucky Reservoirs in Tennessee Protected areas of Calloway County, Kentucky Protected areas of Lyon County, Kentucky Protected areas of Trigg County, Kentucky Protected areas of Marshall County, Kentucky Tennessee River Tennessee Valley Authority Protected areas of Benton County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Calloway County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Lyon County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Trigg County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Marshall County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Benton County, Tennessee

Recreation

See also

References

External links