Fort Peck Lake

Fort Peck Lake
The lake seen from the Lewis and Clark Overlook east of the dam
Location of Fort Peck Lake in Montana, USA.
Location of Fort Peck Lake in Montana, USA.
Fort Peck Lake
Location of Fort Peck Lake in Montana, USA.
Location of Fort Peck Lake in Montana, USA.
Fort Peck Lake
Location Montana,
 United States
Coordinates47°46′41″N 106°40′53″W / 47.77806°N 106.68139°W / 47.77806; -106.68139[1]
Lake typeReservoir
Primary inflowsMissouri River, Musselshell River, Fourchette Creek, Dry Creek
Primary outflowsMissouri River
Catchment area57,500 sq mi (149,000 km2)[2]
Max. length134 mi (216 km)[2]
Surface area245,000 acres (99,000 ha)
Average depth76.3 ft (23.3 m)
Max. depth220 ft (67 m)[2]
Water volume18,687,731 acre⋅ft (23.050977 km3)[2]
Surface elevation2,250 feet (690 m)[2]
FrozenWinter
IslandsYork Island, others unnamed
SettlementsFort Peck

Fort Peck Lake, or Lake Fort Peck, is a major reservoir in Montana, formed by the Fort Peck Dam on the Missouri River. The lake lies in the eastern prairie region of Montana approximately 140 miles (230 km) east of Great Falls and 120 miles (190 km) north of Billings, reaching into portions of six counties.[1]

The dam and reservoir were built in the 1930s to enhance navigation on the Missouri River, supplying enough water downstream of the dam to provide for a 9-foot deep (2.7 m), 300-foot wide (91 m) navigation channel from Sioux City, Iowa, to the mouth of the Missouri just above St. Louis.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Fort Peck Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. April 4, 1980. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Fort Peck Dam and Reservoir Fact Sheet" (PDF). Omaha District. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Affairs, United States Congress Senate Committee on Interior and Insular (1960). Upper Missouri Basin Water Rights: Memorandum of the Chairman. May 1960. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 3.