Lakes in Kentucky, United States

Lake Barkley, a 58,000-acre (230 km2) reservoir in Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg counties in Kentucky and extending into Stewart and Houston counties in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of Barkley Dam. Both the lake and the dam are named for Vice President Alben Barkley, a Kentucky native. The d...

    Full Pool: 359.0 MSL     Area: 57,900 Acres     

In addition to the many recreation areas managed and/or leased out by the Corps of Engineers at Barren River Lake, more than 7,000 acres of land is licensed to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for the management of public hunting areas. The Corps also offers wildlife viewing opportunities in the Quarry Road Recreation Area wit...

    Full Pool: 552.0 MSL     Area: 10,100 Acres     

Cave Run Lake, located south of Morehead, Kentucky, USA along Kentucky Route 801, is an 8,270-acre, reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 148 ft, half-mile dam (and outlet works) construction began in 1965 and was completed in 1973. Cave Run Lake is in the northern part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Cave Run Lake provides ...

    Full Pool: 730.0 MSL     Area: 8,270 Acres     

Lake Cumberland is a reservoir in Clinton, Laurel, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, and Wayne counties in Kentucky. The primary reasons for its construction were a means for flood control and the production of hydroelectric power. Its shoreline measures 1,255 miles (2,020 km) and the lake covers 65,530 acres (265 km2) at the maximum power pool elevation...

    Full Pool: 723.0 MSL     Area: 50,250 Acres     

Green River Lake is a 8,210-acre (33 km2) reservoir in Adair, Taylor, and Casey counties in Kentucky lying in the section of Kentucky known as the Highland Rim. The lake was formed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1969 by impounding the Green River. The dam is an 11 mile drive equidistant from the cities of Campbellsville and Columb...

    Full Pool: 675.0 MSL     Area: 8,210 Acres     

Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. Created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River by Kentucky Dam, the 160,309-acre (649 km2) lake is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the United States east of the Mississippi River (though not the lar...

    Full Pool: 359.0 MSL     Area: 160,300 Acres     

Laurel River Lake, located west of Corbin, Kentucky, in the USA, is a reservoir built in 1977 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Laurel River, a tributary of the Cumberland River, in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The lake covers parts of Laurel and Whitley counties. The 282 foot high dam was built between 1964 and 1974. It is a combina...

        Area: 5,660 Acres     

During the fall and winter months, when excessive rainfall is likely, the lake is kept at a relatively low level referred to as winter pool. Should heavy rains occur, surface water runoff is stored in the lake until the swollen streams and rivers below the dam have receded and can handle the release of the stored water without damage to lives or pr...

    Full Pool: 515.0 MSL     Area: 5,790 Acres     

Rough River Lake is a 5,100-acre (21 km2) reservoir in Breckinridge, Grayson, and Hardin counties in Kentucky. It was impounded from the Rough River in 1959 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Rough River Lake Dam is a 132-foot-high earthen dam impounding a maximum capacity of 334,400 acre-feet. It is the primary attraction of Rough Rive...

    Full Pool: 495.0 MSL     Area: 5,100 Acres