Kentucky's greatest fishing and boating lake-the center of Southern Kentucky's finest vacation area, and the hub around which a year-long succession of outdoor activities revolve. It all began with Wolf Creek Dam. This 240 foot high embankment interrupts the flow of the Cumberland River and backs it up for 101 miles to form Lake Cumberland. Lake Cumberland, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, was originally created for the purpose of flood control and hydroelectric power generation. Construction of Wolf Creek Dam began in August 1941 and after a three year delay during World War II was completed in 1950 for flood control. It was placed in full operation in 1952. The dam stands 240 feet high and is 5,736 feet long. It contains 1,380,000 cubic feet of concrete and 10,016,500 cubic feet of earth fill. The impoundment formed by Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, covers over 63,000 acres and contains over 2,000,000 acre-feet of water. Its waters touch 1,255 miles of shoreline with an average depth of 90 feet. This beautiful lake with its deep blue-green waters, has become a water wonderland for millions of vacationers each year. It offers the very best in water recreation-houseboating, skiing, swimming, scuba/skin diving, camping and fishing. Just plain relaxing is part of the total setting. The irregular meandering Cumberland River became a lake dotted with uninhibited islands, irregular shorelines, rising cliffs capped by hills of green only surpassed by the "Green of Ireland." |
