Lake Ouachita

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Lake Ouachita

Location	Arkansas
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Ouachita River
Primary outflows	Ouachita River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	40,000 acres (160 km²)
Average depth	Avg 50 feet
Max. depth	200 ft (61 m)
Shore length¹	950 mile shoreline
Frozen	Does not freeze
Islands	200
Settlements	HotSprings
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Ouachita (Pronounced WAH-shi-tah) is a lake created by the damming of the Ouachita River by Blakely Mountain Dam. The lake is located near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Lake Ouachita is the largest lake completly in Arkansas, as the larger Bull Shoals Lake extends into Missouri. Lake Ouachita has over 975 miles of shoreline and over 40,000 acres (160 km²) of water. It is completely surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest. Lake Ouachita is located near two other lakes, Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine. These three lakes, DeGray Lake to the near south, and the thermal springs of Hot Springs National Park make Hot Springs a popular tourist getaway.

Largemouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Bream, Crappie, Catfish, Walleye and world class Trophy Striped Bass await the angler. Lake Ouachita is known as the Striped Bass Capital of the World. Lake Ouachita has many unusual features, one feature by the Corps of Engineers is the Geo-Float Trail, a marked trail which can be followed with a brochure which details prominent geologic features along the route.

Lake Ouachita also features one of the largest crystal veins in the world. Lake Ouachita has rare jellyfish (non-stinging) and sponges found in only very few of the cleanest freshwater lakes.

Scuba Divers from all over the world enjoy the underwater experience as well as the special spear fishing season. The Original purpose of Lake Ouachita was flood control and hydroelectricity.

[edit] See also

List of Arkansas dams and reservoirs

Another topic of debate is the vegetation that covers 10% of the lake. Lake Ouachita's vegetation is being addressed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Lake Ouachita Association to control the Hydrilla and Eurasian watermilfoil. The goal of the project is to contain and reduce - not to eradicate - the vegetation, since the presence of aquatic vegetation in moderate amounts is beneficial to the lake's fishery. Treatment will be concentrated on high recreational use areas, such as swimming beaches, around marinas and popular boating areas. Areas of the lake containing good fishery habitat will not be treated.