Which man-made U.S. lake has more shoreline than the U.S. West Coast?

Straddling the Arizona-Utah border, Lake Powell is the largest and deepest man-made reservoir in the United States. The lake has a distinctive zig-zag shape that’s responsible for its incredibly long shoreline of more than 1,900 miles (3,058 km). Measuring shore length is admittedly an inexact science, but that's almost as long as the entire Atlantic (east) coast of the US, from Maine to Florida. By comparison, the Congressional Research Service says the Pacific (west) coast of the mainland, consisting of California, Oregon, and Washington, measures a mere 1,293 miles (2,081 km).

The 254 square mile (657.8 km2) lake is fed by the Colorado River and was formed by the Glen Canyon Dam, which flooded 160,000 acres (64,750 hectare) of Glen Canyon’s beautiful red-rock gorges and side canyons in the 1960s. The creation of Lake Powell led to the 1972 creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a popular summer destination which is managed by the National Park Service. The reservoir itself was named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the Colorado River via three wooden boats in 1869.

Lake Powell is visited by over two million people each year; one of Its most famous natural features is Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural stone arch in the Western Hemisphere.

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10 Comments

Cuaxolotl

fdeisner, but it's about the largest shoreline, not depth or capacity.

fdeisner

Backing the mid-to-late 1970s I work for finnair airlines out of JFK New York. There was an airline convention in Las Vegas and a bunch of us decided to go together, it was a 3-day weekend. Weather in Las Vegas a few of us decided to rent a car go see Hoover Dam in Lake Mead. On the drive going around Lake Mead we saw there were two small helicopters with a sign that there were a helicopter tours over the lake. We stopped and decided to take a tour. The helicopter was one of those small bubble bodies, old glass, helicopters that sat for people. Myself my manager and his secretary decided to go. I sat in the front seat next to the pilot who was an ex Air Force pilot from the Korean war. He ended up being a little on the crazy side but it was a great ride. First of all he took off backwards which was a shock to all three of us. He then took us around and was pretty knowledgeable about the dam and Lake. At one point we were at about 1000 ft in the air and went into a dive, as much as you can do in a helicopter. The secretary in the back started screaming, it was pretty funny. He dove down to about 25 ft above the lake before he leveled off, it was pretty intense. Again I thought it was a pretty good ride it lasted about a half hour.

fdeisner

After choosing Lake Mead and getting it wrong I researched it and found this out from USAbynumbers.com Lake Mead is the largest man made lake in the US, which is located in the Southwestern United States on the Colorado River, created by Hoover Dam. This artificial lake is named after Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Elwood Mead. Lake Mead is 112 miles long with a total capacity of 28,255,00 acre-feet and a maximum depth of 532 feet. It provides water for more than 20 million people in the states of Arizona, Nevada, and California. Since 1983, this artificial lake has failed to reach its full capacity because of prolonged drought and increased demand. The main reason for this lake was to provide for water supply, hydroelectric power, wildlife habitat, and recreation. With the cost of $49 million dollars, Lake Mead was constructed between 1931 to 1936 by the Reclamation Bureau. The Hoover Dam associated with the lake generates 2080 megawatts of power. At the time of construction, it provides jobs for thousands of workers during the Great Depression. 2. Lake Powell,

Char

Never heard of them before much less been there so majority also wasn't much help either..

Mic Fenst

Powell Point is a very impressive place to visit, though difficult to get to.

Vahan Tinkiroglu

From Maine to Florida ist East coast...West coast has more shoreline, including Alaska.

Chris Braid

Thanks majority. Just. Not familiar with any of them!

David Hill

did someone forget about Alaska

skrueger

Question should have specified the contiguous US west coast because if you include the Alaska west coast than the answer would be no lake meets this criteria.