Youghiogheny River Lake
The Yoghiogheny River Lake as viewed from below the Youghiogheny Dam
Location of Youghiogheny River Lake on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Location of Youghiogheny River Lake on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Youghiogheny River Lake
Location of Youghiogheny River Lake on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Location of Youghiogheny River Lake on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Youghiogheny River Lake
Location of Youghiogheny River Lake on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Location of Youghiogheny River Lake on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Youghiogheny River Lake
LocationFayette / Somerset counties, Pennsylvania, and Garrett County, Maryland
Coordinates39°47′52″N 079°22′09″W / 39.79778°N 79.36917°W / 39.79778; -79.36917
Typereservoir
Primary inflowsYoughiogheny River
Primary outflowsYoughiogheny River
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length16 mi (26 km)[1]
Surface area4.4 sq mi (11 km2)
Water volume149,300 acre⋅ft (0.1842 km3) Normal
Surface elevation1,440 ft (440 m)[2]

The Youghiogheny River Lake is a flood control reservoir that is located in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. It is a significant tourist attraction that brings in more than one million visitors a year to the area.[3]

History and notable features

This lake was formed in 1944 by the damming of the Youghiogheny River upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania.[3]

The Youghiogheny Dam is an earthen structure, 184 feet (56 m) high and 1,610 feet (490 m) long at its crest, that is owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[4]

The reservoir's normal surface area is approximately 4.4 square miles (11 km2), and it has a maximum capacity of 300,000 acre-feet (370,000,000 m3), although its normal storage level is 149,300 acre-feet (184,200,000 m3).[4]

The dam facilitates flood control, improves river flow and provides twelve megawatts of hydroelectric power.[1]

U.S. Route 40 crosses the lake between Jockey Hollow on the Fayette County side and Somerfield on the Somerset County side.[5]

Somerfield was laid out on the western edge of Addison Township, Somerset County circa 1816 by Philip D. Smyth, who originally named the settlement Smythfield.[6] Somerfield was abandoned, razed, and inundated when the reservoir was filled during the 1940s.

The stone Great Crossings Bridge of the National Road, which crossed the Youghiogheny at Somerfield, is visible at extremely low water levels.[7] The triple-arch sandstone bridge was constructed between 1815 and 1818 by James Kinkead, James Beck, and Evan Evans.[7][8]

Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b Youghiogheny River Lake at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Youghiogheny River Lake
  3. ^ a b Palmer, Tim (1984). Youghiogheny, Appalachian River. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-82293-495-0.
  4. ^ a b United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey (1968). Water Resources Data for Pennsylvania: Part 1 Surface Water Records. Harrisburg: United States Geological Survey. p. 248.
  5. ^ "Youghiogheny River Lake Project Map". Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  6. ^ History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania. Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co. 1884. p. 572.
  7. ^ a b Lowry, Patricia (January 7, 1999). "A bridge to the 19th century: Falling water-level of Youghiogheny unearths ghost town, historical crossing". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 1, 2020.((cite news)): CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ Heberling, Scott D. (2010). Historic Bridges of Somerset County, Pennsylvania (PDF). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation. p. 7.
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