 | It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled List of lakes of Kansas and List of dams and reservoirs in Kansas . (Discuss) (June 2020) |
This is a listing of lakes, reservoirs, and dams located in the State of Kansas.
| It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled List of lakes of Kansas and List of dams and reservoirs in Kansas . (Discuss) (June 2020) |
This is a listing of lakes, reservoirs, and dams located in the State of Kansas.
The shorelines of Kansas Lakes are mostly in government ownership and open to the public for hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking. Large areas of public land surround most of the lakes.
| Name | Capacity in acre feet (normal pool) | surface acres (normal pool) | maximum depth | comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford Lake | 351,577 | 15,709 acres (6,357 ha) | 65 feet (20 m) | 21,000 acres (8,500 ha) of recreational land |
| Tuttle Creek Lake | 253,265 | 12,500 acres (5,059 ha) | 50 feet (15 m) | 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) of recreational land |
| Waconda Lake (Glen Elder Dam) | 241,460 | 12,586 acres (5,093 ha) | 45 feet (14 m) | 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) of recreational land |
| Wilson Lake | 235,000 | 9,020 acres (3,650 ha) | 65 feet (20 m) | 8,120 acres (3,290 ha) of recreational land, clearest lake in Kansas |
| Perry Lake | 209,513 | 11,150 acres (4,512 ha) | 55 feet (17 m) | 21,600 acres (8,700 ha) of recreational land |
| Cheney Reservoir | 168,000 | 9,537 acres (3,859 ha) | 49 feet (15 m) | 7,412 acres (3,000 ha) of recreational land |
| El Dorado Lake | 153,444 | 8,000 acres (3,237 ha) | 51 feet (16 m) | 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of recreational land, Trout fishing below dam in winter |
| Melvern Lake | 151,256 | 6,930 acres (2,804 ha) | 60 feet (18 m) | 17,244 acres (6,978 ha) of recreational land |
| Clinton Lake | 110,400 | 7,000 acres (2,833 ha) | 55 feet (17 m) | 11,000 acres (4,500 ha) of recreational land |
| Marion Reservoir | 80,669 | 6,200 acres (2,509 ha) | 37 feet (11 m) | 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of recreational land |
| Cedar Bluff Reservoir | 79,252 | 6,869 acres (2,780 ha) | 55 feet (17 m) | 5,668 acres (2,294 ha) of recreational land |
| Hillsdale Lake | 76,300 | 4,575 acres (1,851 ha) | 57 feet (17 m) | 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of recreational land |
| Pomona Lake | 70,600 | 4,060 acres (1,643 ha) | 50 feet (15 m) | 10,500 acres (4,200 ha) of recreational land |
| Kirwin Reservoir | 67,268 | 5,079 acres (2,055 ha) | 49 feet (15 m) | Lake is the centerpiece of 10,778 acres (4,362 ha) Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge |
| Kanopolis Lake | 50,273 | 3,406 acres (1,378 ha) | 35 feet (11 m) | 12,500 acres (5,100 ha) of recreational land |
| John Redmond Reservoir | 50,040 | 9,400 acres (3,804 ha) | 12 feet (3.7 m) | 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of recreational land |
| Council Grove Lake | 43,984 | 3,310 acres (1,340 ha) | 56 feet (17 m) | 2,638 acres (1,068 ha) of recreational land |
| Webster Reservoir | 37,926 | 3,740 acres (1,514 ha) | 42 feet (13 m) | 3,164 acres (1,280 ha) of recreational land |
| Elk City Lake | 37,422 | 4,450 acres (1,801 ha) | 24 feet (7.3 m) | 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of recreational land |
| Keith Sebelius Reservoir | 35,935 | 2,181 acres (883 ha) | 42 feet (13 m) | 5,668 acres (2,294 ha) of recreational land |
| Big Hill Lake | 23,361 | 1,240 acres (502 ha) | 60 feet (18 m) | 1,280 acres (520 ha) of recreational land; 17 mile (27 km) horse trail |
| Fall River Lake | 20,690 | 2,450 acres (991 ha) | 30 feet (9.1 m) | 20,100 acres (8,100 ha) of recreational land, including Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge |
| Toronto Lake | 16,528 | 2,800 acres (1,133 ha) | 45 feet (14 m) | 5,775 acres (2,337 ha) of recreational land |
| Lovewell Reservoir | 15,284 | 2,986 acres (1,208 ha) | 35 feet (11 m) | 2,229 acres (902 ha) of recreational land |
Sources: Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Kansas State Parks. Copan, Hulah, and Kaw lakes extend into Kansas but are mostly in Oklahoma.
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is located in south central Kansas near the town of Stafford. It lies mostly in northeastern Stafford County, but small parts extend into southwestern Rice and northwestern Reno Counties. Its proximity to the Central Flyway migration route and the salt marshes on the refuge combine to endow the refuge with a large variety of birds. Many of these birds are uncommon in other parts of Kansas or even the central part of the continent.
The Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States system of national wildlife refuges. It is located in Alfalfa County in northern Oklahoma, north of Jet, along Great Salt Plains Lake, which is formed by a dam on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River.
Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge is a 13,450-acre (5,440 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge located in northwestern Colorado. It is located in Moffat County in the extreme northwestern corner of the state, in an isolated mountain valley of Browns Park on both sides of the Green River, approximately 25 miles (40 km) below Flaming Gorge Dam. Established in 1965, the refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service office in Maybell, Colorado. The refuge is approximately 53 miles (85 km) northwest of Maybell on State Highway 318. The refuge consists of bottomland and adjacent benchland. The western border of the refuge is the Colorado-Utah state line. The refuge is surrounded by adjacent lines of the Bureau of Land Management. The refuge contains the site of the former Fort Davy Crockett that was constructed in 1837 to protect trappers against attacks by Blackfoot Native Americans.
The Klamath Project is a water-management project developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to supply farmers with irrigation water and farmland in the Klamath Basin. The project also supplies water to the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. The project was one of the first to be developed by the Reclamation Service, which later became the Bureau of Reclamation.
Horicon Marsh is a marsh located in northern Dodge and southern Fond du Lac counties of Wisconsin. It is the site of both a national and a state wildlife refuge. The silted-up glacial lake is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States.
Loon Lake is a reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest of El Dorado County, California, United States. The 76,200 acre⋅ft (94,000,000 m3) lake is formed by Loon Lake Dam, completed in 1963 as part of the Upper American River Project by Sacramento Municipal Utility District to conserve spring snow melt runoff for use during the summer and autumn for hydroelectric power production. Loon Lake Dam impounds water at the headwaters of Gerle Creek which, prior to the dam, flowed intermittently through (natural) Loon and Pleasant Lakes. But most of the water now stored in Loon Lake arrives from Buck Island Reservoir in the adjacent Rubicon River watershed by way of the Buck-Loon Tunnel. Nearby is Loon Lake Chalet, a popular winter recreation destination. In summer, a boat ramp for water sports and camping are available, but the area is less popular than nearby Union Valley Reservoir and Rubicon Trail.
Lake Marion is the largest lake in South Carolina, centrally located and with territory within five counties. The lake is referred to as South Carolina's inland sea. It has a 315-mile (507 km) shoreline and covers nearly 110,000 acres of rolling farmlands, former marshes, and river valley landscape.
The Central Utah Project is a US federal water project that was authorized for construction under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956, as a participating project. In general, the Central Utah Project develops a portion of Utah's share of the yield of the Colorado River, as set out in the Colorado River Compact of 1922.
The Harlan County Reservoir includes a dam and a reservoir of 13,250 acres (54 km2) located in Harlan County in south-central Nebraska. Its southernmost part extends into northern Phillips County, Kansas. The reservoir is formed by a dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Republican River, which starts in Colorado and ends in Kansas.
McKay Reservoir is a reservoir in Umatilla County of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is an impoundment of McKay Creek, a tributary of the Umatilla River. The reservoir is located 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Pendleton on U.S. Route 395. The reservoir has a capacity of 65,534 acre-feet (80,835,000 m3) of water. The reservoir and land that immediately surrounds it are designated as the McKay Creek National Wildlife Refuge. The reservoir and creek that it impounds are named for Dr. William C. McKay. McKay was an early settler in the Pendleton, Oregon area. He settled near the mouth of McKay Creek about 1851. The place was originally called Houtama. He died in Pendleton in 1893.
Cheyenne Bottoms is a wetland in the central Great Plains of North America. Occupying approximately 41,000 acres in central Kansas, it is the largest wetland in the interior United States. The Bottoms is a critical stopping point on the Central Flyway for millions of birds which migrate through the region annually.
John Redmond Reservoir is a reservoir on the Neosho River in eastern Kansas. Built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is used for flood control, recreation, water supply, and wildlife management. It borders the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge to the northwest.
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act authorizes a wetlands habitat program, administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which provides grants to protect and manage wetland habitats for migratory birds and other wetland wildlife in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A nine-member council meets periodically to decide which projects to fund.
Straddling the headwaters of the Minnesota River in west-central Minnesota, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is within the heart of the tallgrass prairie's historic range. Today, less than one-percent of tallgrass prairie remains.
The Ana River is a short spring-fed river in south-central Oregon. It is on the northwestern edge of the Great Basin drainage. It flows 7 miles (11 km) from springs at the foot of Winter Ridge through high desert, range, and wetlands before emptying into Summer Lake. For most of its course, the Ana River flows through the Summer Lake Wildlife Area, which is maintained by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The river provides habitat for many mammal and bird species, as well as several fish species, including the rare Summer Lake Tui chub. The largest hybrid striped bass ever caught in Oregon was taken from Ana Reservoir in 2009.
The Summer Lake Wildlife Area is a 29.6-square-mile (77 km2) wildlife refuge located on the northwestern edge of the Great Basin drainage in south-central Oregon. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The refuge is an important stop for waterfowl traveling along the Pacific Flyway during their spring and fall migrations. The Summer Lake Wildlife Area also provides habitat for shorebirds and other bird species as well as wide variety of mammals and several fish species. The Ana River supplies the water for the refuge wetlands.
Kirwin Reservoir is a reservoir in Phillips County, Kansas, United States. It is located next to the city of Kirwin in northern Kansas. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built it and continues to operate it for the purposes of flood control and area irrigation. The Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge lies on its shores.
Kanopolis Lake is a reservoir in Ellsworth County in the Smoky Hills of central Kansas, about 31 miles southwest of Salina and a few miles southeast of the town of Kanopolis. The lake is formed by Kanopolis Dam. Completed in 1948 as a flood control and water conservation project of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the dam impounds the Smoky Hill River.
McPherson Valley Wetlands are a disconnected chain of marshes, wetlands, and shallow lakes in McPherson County, Kansas. Once covering a much larger area, 4,455 acres of the wetlands and surrounding prairie had been preserved by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism as of 2011.
The Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in McPherson County, Kansas consists of 2,574 acres (1,042 ha) of mostly mixed grass prairie. Bison and elk inhabit the refuge. The McPherson State Fishing Lake adjoins the refuge and adds another 260 acres (110 ha) of protected area, including a 46 acres (19 ha) lake.
