Kentucky Lake facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake Location in Kentucky Show map of Kentucky Kentucky Lake Location in Tennessee Show map of Tennessee Kentucky Lake Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Kentucky / Tennessee
Coordinates	37°00′45″N 88°16′12″W / 37.01256°N 88.27003°W / 37.01256; -88.27003
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	United States
Max. depth	75 feet (23 m)

Aerial view of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Kentucky Lake is on the left. The canal connecting Lake Barkley to Kentucky Lake is visible at left-center.

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, with 2,064 miles of shoreline, although the nearby Lake Barkley is larger by volume. Kentucky Lake has a flood storage capacity of 4,008,000 acre⋅ft (4.944 km³), more than 2.5 times the next largest lake in the TVA system.

It provides a source for hydro-electric power and, as one of the lakes alluded to by the name of Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, is a recreational magnet in western Kentucky and Tennessee.

Recreation

The lake holds records for the largest of three species of fish ever taken in Kentucky: white bass (5 lb.), Buffalo carp (55 lb.), and yellow perch (1 lb., 4 oz). It is also the major attraction for two Kentucky state parks: Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park to the north and Kenlake State Resort Park to the west.