Arkabutla Lake
| Arkabutla Lake | |
|---|---|
Arkabutla Lake
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| Location | DeSoto / Tate counties, Mississippi, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°45′42″N 090°07′20″W / 34.76167°N 90.12222°WCoordinates: 34°45′42″N 090°07′20″W / 34.76167°N 90.12222°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Coldwater River |
| Primary outflows | Coldwater River |
| Basin countries | United States |
Arkabutla Lake is a reservoir on the Coldwater River in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The dam is located on Arkabutla Dam Rd approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the small community of Arkabutla. It is one of four Flood Damage Reduction reservoirs in northern Mississippi, with the others being Sardis, Enid and Grenada Lakes. With an annual visitation exceeding 2 million people, Arkabutla Lake accommodates a wide variety of recreational interest throughout the entire year. The Arkabutla Lake project includes 57,250 acres (231.7 km2) of land and water. The dam is 11,500 ft (3,500 m) long with an average height of 67 ft (20 m). There are 37,700 acres (153 km2) of land at the project which are open to the public for hunting.
According to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers website, after a series of disastrous floods during the mid-19th century and early 20th century, high priority was given to flood control projects. The worst flood in modern history of the Lower Mississippi Valley occurred in 1927. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 spawned a comprehensive program for flood control along the Mississippi River and its tributaries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers became the planners, designers and builders of the flood control projects. These projects were made possible by the passing of the Flood Control Act of 1937.
Engineers determined the headwaters of the Yazoo River contributed to or caused much of the flooding that occurred in the Mississippi Delta region. In addition to the construction of levees along the Yazoo River, four flood control reservoirs were constructed in north Mississippi as part of the Yazoo Basin Headwater Project. Arkabutla Dam, the second of the dams to be built, was constructed on the Coldwater River.
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