Lake Wylie

:"For the town of Lake Wylie, SC, see Lake Wylie, South Carolina"Infobox lake
lake_name = Lake Wylie
image_lake = Buster Boyd Bridge.jpg
caption_lake = The Buster Boyd Bridge spanning Lake Wylie at the town of Lake Wylie, South Carolina.
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = South Carolina and
North Carolina
coords = coord|35|5|8.9|N|81|3|30.9|W|display=inline,title
type = artificial reservoir
inflow = Catawba River
outflow =
catchment =
basin_countries = United States
length =
width =
area = convert|21|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on
depth =
max-depth =
volume =
residence_time =
shore = convert|325|mi|km|0|abbr=on
elevation =
islands =
cities = Charlotte, North Carolina
Lake Wylie, South Carolina
Steele Creek, North Carolina
Tega Cay, South Carolina
India Hook, South Carolina

frozen =

Lake Wylie is an artificial reservoir lake located in South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of convert|13400|acre|km2|0cite press release | title = Wylie Hydroelectric Station Celebrates 75 Years Of Service: A Little History Gets A Chance To Shine | publisher = Duke Power | date = 2000-08-09 | url = http://www.duke-energy.com/newsarchives/2000/Aug/2000080901.html | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ] (21sq mi) and features convert|325|mi|km|0 [cite web | title = Lake Wylie | work = The Official Tourism Site of South Carolina | publisher = South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism | url = http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/product.aspx?productID=25571 | accessdate = 2007-08-16 ] of shore line.

History

The man-made lake was first formed when the Catawba Power Company built the Catawba Dam and Power Plant near at India Hook, South Carolina in 1904. [cite web | title = History of York County | work = Excerpted from "Historical Properties of York County, South Carolina" | publisher = York County Historical Commission | url = http://www.chmuseums.org/ourmuseums/histcenter/ychistory.htm | accessdate = 2007-08-16 ] This dam impounded the Catawba River and created Lake Catawba, which was utilized to create hydro-electric power. In 1905 the Catawba Power Company became part of the Southern Power Company.

In 1924 the Southern Power Company raised the level of the dam and a built a new Catawba Hydroelectric Station to replace the original. This new facility opened in August 1925, increasing the surface area of Lake Catawba from convert|668|acre|km2|1 to convert|13400|acre|km2|0. The Southern Power Company was merged with Duke Power Company in 1927.

In October 1960 the power station was renamed the Wylie Hydroelectric Station and the lake was renamed Lake Wylie, both in honor of Dr. W. Gil Wylie, one of the founders of the original Catawba Power Company that had created the lake and become Duke Power.

Other information

manages six public boat access areas on the lake.

Lake Wylie is one of eleven lakes on the Catawba River and is the second oldest lake in the Catawba River Chain which is a chain of lakes that's operated as a system, with water being moved around each lake on the chain system through Duke Power. The lake has a surface area of approximately convert|13443|acre|km2|0 with convert|325|mi|km|0 of shoreline, and stretches from the Mountain Island Dam, south of Mountain Island Lake in North Carolina to the Wylie Dam on the south end of the lake. The average depth of the lake is just over twenty feet.

The Catawba Nuclear Generating Station is located on the south-western part of the lake, and draws its cooling water from the lake. Allen Steam Station located on the northern part of the lake (west of Charlotte) also draws its cooling water from the lake.

ee also

* Lake Wylie, South Carolina
* Catawba Nuclear Generating Station
* Buster Boyd Bridge

References