Lake of the Ozarks
| Lake of the Ozarks | |||||||
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| Coordinates | 38 ° 12 '9 " N , 92 ° 37' 35" W | ||||||
| Data on the structure | |||||||
| Construction time: | 1929-1931 | ||||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 45 m | ||||||
| Crown length: | 775 m | ||||||
| Power plant output: | 215 MW | ||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||
| Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 201.3 m | ||||||
| Water surface | 223 (337?) Km² | ||||||
| Reservoir length | 148 km | ||||||
| Storage space | 2377 million m³ | ||||||
| Catchment area | 36,000 km² | ||||||
The Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir on the Osage River in Miller County , Missouri . It was built to generate electricity and is of great tourist importance today.
geography
The lake is located in the central Ozarks , a mountainous region in the American Midwest . In addition to the Osage River, three smaller tributaries flow, the Niangua River, the Grand Glaize River and the Gravois Creek. According to various sources, the elongated, narrow reservoir has a surface of 223 or 337 km², over 1850 km of shoreline, and a maximum extension of 148 km. At the time of construction, the dam was one of the largest in the world and the largest in the United States. The catchment area is 36,000 km².
The system was built by the Union Electric Company from St. Louis from August 6, 1929 to April 1931 . It is now operated by AmerenUE (the former Union Electric Company ), which is under the supervision of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ( FERC ). The barrier structure of the dam is a gravity dam , the 45 m high and 775 m long Bagnell Dam , also known as Osage Dam . The hydropower plant has eight generators with an output of 215 megawatts. It has a drop height of 156 m. The flood relief system is 159 m wide. According to the construction plans, 13 flood openings were planned, but only 12 were installed. The 13th opening was closed with concrete because the engineers believed that 12 closures were sufficient. But it can also be that those responsible at Union Electric wanted to avoid the unlucky number 13.
Importance as a recreation area
The dam was originally built to generate electricity for Union Electric customers in a hydropower plant . The lake quickly became a major tourist attraction in the Midwest. There are more than 70,000 houses on the lake, many of them holiday homes. The spectacular view of the Ozarks also helped transform the lake into a great recreational area. More than three million people visit the lake annually.
The Lake of the Ozarks is considered the largest man-made lake in the United States that is not used for flood control. The water level hardly fluctuates more than 1.5 m. The normal water level is 201.3 m above sea level. Most of the shoreline is privately owned and the relatively stable water level has created ideal conditions for tourist use directly on the shore. The lake is also known as the Midwest Coast .
The stock market crash of 1929, which was followed by a severe recession (the Great Depression ), happened just a few months after construction began. Several thousand employees worked on the project and gave the rural area around the dam and the entire state an economic boom, especially when jobs were scarce.
The lake is also the venue for the Party Cove, which takes place annually on Independence Day , a festival that takes place primarily on boats.
Fish fauna
In addition to its size and high recreational value, the Lake of the Ozarks is also a popular body of water for sport fishermen. Black bass ( Micropterus ssp.), Various species of catfish such as flat-headed catfish ( Pylodictis olivaris ), spotted fork catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) or blue catfish ( Ictalurus furcatus ), crappie ( Pomoxis ssp.), White ( Morone chrysops ) and hybrid bass are mainly fished , Eyeglasses and bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus ). There is also paddlefish , largemouth bass , striped bass , rainbow trout and many other fish species that are native to the Midwest. For some species like the blue catfish there are now catching regulations. There are also problems with introduced species such as the silver carp , which reaches huge weights in this lake. Piranha catches have been reported repeatedly in the Lake of the Ozarks. The fish were identified as Natterer's Sägesalmler . This seems unusual, as piranhas, because of their temperature requirements, can only survive in US states with year-round high water temperatures, such as Florida , Texas and California . A team of researchers tried in vain to prove that, under certain circumstances, a piranha population would be able to survive in winter near groundwater sources with higher water temperatures. But here, too, temperatures prevail that would reduce the activity of piranhas so much that, according to fishery biologists, they would be easy prey for largemouth bass.
See also
- List of the largest dams on earth
- List of the largest reservoirs on earth
- List of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world
- List of dams in the world
Web links
Notes and individual references
- ↑ engl. Walleye
- ↑ Lake Ozark Fishing Report ( Memento of the original from December 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Missouri State Parks - Fishing at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park
- ^ Truman Reservoir and Lake of the Ozarks Blue Catfish Management Changes Considered
- ↑ 106-Pound Bighead Carp - State Record of Missouri ( Memento of the original from April 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Missouri Whitetails, 11-Year-Old Catches Piranha At Lake Ozarks, July 19, 2011 ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Connect MidMissouri, Piranhas found at Lake of Ozarks, October 25, 2007
- ↑ Piranha Hunt At The Lake Of The Ozarks, May 23, 2010 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 'MonsterQuest' TV show creates a stir despite not finding any piranha in Lake of the Ozarks, by Joyce L. Miller, March 12, 2010
- ↑ LakeExpo.com, Lake 'gators, river demons, and the quest for fierce creatures, by Pat Bellew, June 27, 2013 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
