LAKE OF THE OZARKS

The 'Lake of the Ozarks' is a large man-made reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in central Missouri in the northern part of The Ozarks. In addition, three smaller tributaries of the Osage which were also impounded include the Niangua River, the Grandglaize Creek, and Gravois Creek. The lake has a surface area of 55,000 acres (223 km²), over 1,150 miles of shoreline (1,850 km), and the main channel of the Osage Arm stretches from end to end (148 km). The total drainage area is over .
The lake was created by the construction of the long (775 m) Bagnell Dam by Union Electric Company of St. Louis, Missouri (named for Bagnell, Missouri by the dam site which had been platted in 1883). The principal engineering firm was Stone and Webster. Construction began August 6, 1929, and was completed in April 1931. The dam is operated and maintained by AmerenUE (formerly Union Electric Company), under the authority of a permit issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
During construction the lake was referred to as ''Osage Reservoir'' or ''Lake Osage''. The Missouri General Assembly officially named it ''Lake Benton'' -- after the former Senator Thomas Hart Benton (whose name is also applied to Benton County, Missouri in which part of the lake lies. None of the names took as it was popularly referred to as its location in the Ozark Mountains. The electric generating station still still referred to by its utility as the ''Osage Hydroelectric Plant''^[2]
At the time of construction, it was one of the largest man-made lakes in the world and the largest in the United States. Although originally built to provide hydroelectric power for customers of Union Electric, the lake quickly became a significant tourist destination for the Midwest. There are over 70,000 homes existing along the lake, many of which are vacation homes. Spectacular scenery characteristic of the Ozarks has also helped to transform the lake into a major resort area. More than 3 million people visit the lake annually.
The Lake of the Ozarks is unique in the fact that it is the largest man-made, non-flood control lake in the United States. The lake rarely varies in surface elevation by more than , with normal pool elevation of above mean sea level. Most of the adjacent shoreline on the Lake of the Ozarks is privately owned, and the relatively stable surface elevation has created ideal conditions for private development within a few feet of the shoreline. The lake is promoted as the "Midwest Coast".
During the process of land acquisition for the lake during the 1920s, of land along the Grand Glaize Arm of the lake was set aside for a National Park. In 1946, this land was acquired by the State of Missouri for Lake of the Ozarks State Park, the largest State Park in Missouri. Other State Parks on the shores of the lake include Ha Ha Tonka State Park which is located on the Niangua Arm of the lake.
Lake of the Ozarks State Park is also home to Party Cove, a rowdy gathering spot that has been featured on the front page of the New York Times Travel Section and on the Playboy Channel.

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See also

References

External link

See also

★ Camdenton, Missouri

★ Hurricane Deck, Missouri

★ Lake Ozark, Missouri

★ Osage Beach, Missouri

★ Sunrise Beach, Missouri

References

1. Midwest Diving Locations
2. Lakehistory.info

External link

★ Lake of the Ozarks Visitor Bureau

★ Lake of the Ozarks on Flickr