Carlyle Lake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carlyle Lake | |
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| Location | Clinton County, Illinois |
| Coordinates | (Dam) |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Kaskaskia River, North Fork |
| Primary outflows | Kaskaskia River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 15 miles (24.1 km) |
| Max. width | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) |
| Surface area | 26,000 acres (105.2 km²) |
| Average depth | 11 feet (3.4 m) |
| Max. depth | 35 feet (10.7 m) |
| Shore length1 | 85 miles (136.8 km) |
| Surface elevation | 445 feet (135.6 m) |
| Settlements | Carlyle, Keyesport |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Carlyle Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir largely located in Clinton County, Illinois, with smaller portions of the lake within Bond and Fayette counties. It is the largest artificial lake in Illinois and the largest lake wholly within the state.
The lake was created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built Carlyle Dam across the Kaskaskia River, thereby creating a reservoir filled to a mean elevation of 446 feet (136 m) above sea level. The region of Southern Illinois where Caryle Lake now stands is relatively flat, and the lake is relatively shallow. Construction of the dam began on October 18, 1958 and it was dedicated on June 3, 1967.
Grouped around the lake are Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area, South Shore State Park, and the Carlyle Lake Wildlife Management Area.
Carlyle Lake is managed for flood control purposes, which means that the lake level fluctuates sharply with the seasons. Creeks that flow into the lake sometimes alternate between being three-mile-long estuaries and being mud flats. For this reason, it is not an ideal lake for some forms of shoreline recreation, such as swimming.
Carlyle Lake is used by many for boating, particularly sailing, and fishing. Many use the lake to catch channel catfish, flatheads, largemouth bass, white bass, crappie, and bluegill. The bass scene is particularly lively, with several tagged-bass and catch-and-release championships annually.
The lake is separated into two unequal halves by a 3.5-mile-long (6 km) railroad embankment, and five bridges, carrying the tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. 600 graves were moved from seven cemeteries and 69 oil wells were capped prior to flooding the area.
The lake continues to be managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
[edit] External links
- Carlyle Lake - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- History
- Fishing GuidePDF (6.20 MB) (Source of depths and shoreline)
 Carlyle Dam, impounding Carlyle Lake |
 Carlyle Lake Dam with the tainter gates open |
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