Walter F. George Lake

Walter F. George Lake
Walter F. George Lake
	Walter F. George Lock and Dam
	Walter F. George Lake Walter F. George Lake
Location	Alabama–Georgia state line,; United States
Coordinates	31°48′N 85°8′W / 31.800°N 85.133°W
Primary inflows	Chattahoochee River
Primary outflows	Chattahoochee River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	45,181 acres (182.8 km2)
Average depth	15–18 feet (4.6–5.5 m)
Max. depth	100 ft (30 m)
Shore length1	640 mi (1,030 km)
Surface elevation	190 ft (58 m)
Islands	Gopher Island, Rabbit Island
Settlements	Eufaula, Alabama; Georgetown, Georgia; Fort Gaines, Georgia
	1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Walter F. George Lake, named for Walter F. George (1878–1957), a United States senator from Georgia, is formed on the Chattahoochee River along the state line between Alabama and Georgia. It is also widely known by the name, Lake Eufaula – particularly in Alabama, where the state legislature passed a resolution on June 25, 1963, to give the lake that name.^[1] The 46,000 acres (190 km²) lake extends north about 85 miles (140 km) from the Walter F. George Lock and Dam (31°37′10″N 85°4′15″W / 31.61944°N 85.07083°W / 31.61944; -85.07083 (Walter F. George Lock and Dam)) and has approximately 640 miles (1,030 km) of shoreline. Popular activities along the lake include camping and trophy fishing.

The lake is primarily controlled by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The states control several other protected lands along the lake, including the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge and Lakepoint State Park in Alabama, and Florence Marina and George T. Bagby state parks in Georgia.

The flooding of the land in the area covered numerous historic and prehistoric sites associated with Native American culture. Indigenous peoples had lived along the river for thousands of years. The unincorporated area of Oketeyeconne, Georgia, which historically had a majority of Native American residents, was evacuated in the 1950s to allow creation of the lake.

References

^ Fred Brown, et al., The Riverkeeper's Guide to the Chattahoochee River: From Its Origin at Chattahoochee Gap to Apalachicola Bay (University of Georgia Press, 1997)