Lake Cumberland is one of the largest man-made bodies of water east of the Mississippi River. A vacationer's paradise, Lake Cumberland covers over 63,000 acres. Its waters touch over 1,255 miles of shoreline with an average depth of 90 feet.
Lake Cumberland is one of the ten largest lakes in the nation. Lined with federally protected shores, it's beauty abounds. The wide deep waters are popular for skiing, fishing, and recreational boating.
Lake Cumberland Facts
Lake Cumberland was filled with water in December 1950, and was constructed primarily for flood control and the production of hydroelectric power at a cost of about $80.4 million. Its shoreline measures 1,085 miles and the lake is spread over 50,250 acres at the top of the power pool.
It ranks 22nd in the One Hundred Largest Dams in the U.S. and required 11,568,900 cubic yards of material in construction. The reservoir ranks 9th in the U.S. in size with a capacity of 6,089,000 acre-feet, enough water to cover the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky to a depth of 3 inches. That's roughly 1.9 trillion gallons.
More than 4.7 million visitors spent 73,252,200 hours in pursuit of recreation and added more than $152,395,044.00 to the local economy in 1999. The number of visitor hours ranks Lake Cumberland 4th in the nation among 383 Corps Lakes. Since it was impounded, Wolf Creek Dam has prevented more than $500,000,000 in flood damages for cities and communities downstream.
The six turbines at Lake Cumberland are capable of producing 270 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply the needs of an average city with a population of 375,000. Cost of original dam construction: $81 million Cost to repair leak in dam (discovered in 1967) during late 1970s: $96.4 million.
If you are interested in great fishing our lake offers trophy size stripers and holds state records for brown and rainbow trout and walleye.
Lake Cumberland is Kentucky's greatest fishing and boating lake. It is Kentucky's finest vacation area, with year round sessions of outdoor activities.
Please Help Keep Lake Cumberland Clean !
|
