Lake Harding | |
---|---|
Bartlett's Ferry Lake | |
Location | Harris County, Georgia / Lee County, Alabama, US |
Coordinates | 32°39′47″N85°05′28″W / 32.663°N 85.091°W |
Type | reservoir |
Primary inflows | Chattahoochee River |
Primary outflows | Chattahoochee River |
Basin countries | United States |
Surface area | 5,850 acres (23.7 km2) |
Average depth | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Max. depth | 111 ft (34 m) |
Shore length1 | 156 mi (251 km) |
Surface elevation | 521 feet (159 m) |
Islands | several (Houston's Island) |
Website | https://lakeharding.com |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Lake Harding, also known as Bartlett's Ferry Lake, is a 5,850-acre (23.7 km2) reservoir on the Chattahoochee River. The lake is formed by Bartlett's Ferry Dam, and the border between Georgia and Alabama traverses the main channel along the western side of the lake. The Georgia side lies entirely within Harris County while the Alabama shoreline's entirety is in Lee County. Lake Harding is a deep lake with a depth of over 100 feet (30 m) at the dam itself.
The lake was originally built by the Columbus Power Company in 1926 to generate hydroelectric power. The lake was named after R.M. Harding, a power company official. [1] The dam and lake were bought by Georgia Power in 1930.
Over the years, Lake Harding has become a popular recreational area with local residents from the Columbus metro area, many of whom have built lake homes along the well-developed shoreline on both the Alabama and Georgia sides of the lake.
Three major tributaries flow into the lake. On the Alabama side, Osanippa Creek rises near Cusseta in southern Chambers County and flows southeast into the northern end of the lake, while Halawakee Creek rises within the city limits of Opelika and flows east through northeastern Lee County before deepening and widening greatly prior to its junction with the lake. On the Georgia side, Mountain Oak Creek flows out of Piedmont Lake near Whitesville in Harris County southwestward into the lake, with its mouth nearly due east of the mouth of Osanippa Creek on the Alabama side.
Lake Harding features several islands. One of the most notable is Huston's Island, which contains the ruins of an old lake house.
Lake Harding is the practice site of the Auburn University Club Rowing Team. The team can frequently be seen practicing on early weekday mornings.
Harris County is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia; its western border with the state of Alabama is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668. The county seat is Hamilton. The largest city in the county is Pine Mountain, a resort town that is home to the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. Harris County was created on December 14, 1827, and named for Charles Harris, a Georgia judge and attorney.
West Point is a city in Troup and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located approximately halfway between Montgomery, Alabama and Atlanta along Interstate 85. As of 2020, its population was 3,719. Most of the city is in Troup County, which is part of the LaGrange micropolitan statistical area, and hence part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA combined statistical area. A sliver in the south is in Harris County, which is part of the Columbus metropolitan statistical area.
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Logan Martin Lake is a reservoir located in east central Alabama on the Coosa River approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Birmingham, Alabama. This 17,000-acre (69 km2) reservoir was built in 1965 by Alabama Power Company. The lake, nicknamed Lake of a Thousand Coves by locals, has 275 miles (443 km) of shoreline along its 48.5-mile (78.1 km) length sandwiched between Logan Martin Dam on the south and Neely Henry Dam on the north. The depth of the lake is 35 to 110 feet (34 m) with only five feet average water level variance.
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