Huntington District, West Virginia -- Yatesville Lake is located entirely in Lawrence County, Kentucky, on Blaine Creek; a tributary of the Big Sandy River. It was built under the Flood Control Act of 1965. The dam is rockfill, with a central impervious core and founded on rock. The length of the lake and boatable arms is 20.6 miles upstream from the dam and 18.1 miles upstream from where it flows into the Big Sandy River. The maximum depth of the lake is 60 feet with an average mean depth of 17.7 feet. The shoreline measures 93.9 miles at summer pool level. The lake's watershed is 208 miles. Winter Pool Elevation - 624.0 m.s.l. (1,745 acres) Summer Pool Elevation - 630.0 m.s.l. (2,242 acres) Flood Pool Elevation - 645.0 m.s.l. (3,805 acres).
Historical Info
A Wicket Dam Exhibit is located in the Project's Information Center. From 1875 until the turn of the century, the Corps of Engineers constructed a series of 53 wicket dams to canalize the Ohio River to meet the demands of year-round navigation beginning at Davis Island near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and traveling the length of the river to Cairo, Illinois. The exhibit depicts this process. An Oil Well Exhibit is located adjacent to the Project Office/Information Center parking lot. The oil well equipment was pulled from the oil field at Little Blaine Creek before the water from the lake covered the site. The exhibit depicts the common method of oil production at the turn of the century.