Missouri features some sizable lakes, including the Truman Reservoir near Warsaw, Missouri, the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri, and Bull Shoals Lake on the Arkansas border.
Table Rock Lake, located near Branson, is a popular recreational lake. Stockton Lake, as the name suggests, is located immediately south of Stockton and offers excellent sailing opportunities.
But which one of these lakes is the deepest? Are the largest lakes necessarily the deepest? What surprises could we discover at the bottom of the deepest lake? Is there actually an underground lake in Missouri? Let’s find out all about Missouri’s deepest lake!
What is the deepest lake in Missouri?
Missouri’s deepest lake is Table Rock Lake. Table Rock Lake, located just southwest of the tourist resort of Branson, attracts people to Table Rock State Park for boating, fishing, swimming, and camping. The nearby White River Hills in the Ozark Mountains provide excellent views, as do oak woodlands and glades.
How Deep is Table Rock Lake in Missouri?
Table Rock Lake is Missouri’s deepest lake, measuring 220 feet deep. Table Rock Lake is located on the White River in southwest Missouri and was formed as a result of the Table Rock Dam. The dam was built between 1954 and 1959 to manage flooding, but it also generates hydroelectric power. The US Army Corps of Engineers Dewey Short Visitor Center is located at the dam and provides information about Table Rock Lake, dam building, and animals in the area.
Is Table Rock Lake the largest lake in Missouri?
No. The largest lake in Missouri is Truman Reservoir, named for President Harry S. Truman. Many individuals at Trivia Night get that one wrong, believing that the largest lake is the well-known Lake of the Ozarks, which became renowned after the Netflix miniseries Ozarks. The two lakes are similar in size, with Truman Reservoir containing 55,600 acres and Lake of the Ozarks covering 54,000 acres. Bull Shoals Lake is third with 45,150 acres, while Table Rock Lake is fourth with 43,095 acres in Missouri.
How does the deepest lake in Missouri compare to the deepest lake in the United States?
Table Rock Lake is Missouri’s deepest lake, measuring 220 feet deep. The deepest lake in the United States is Crater Lake in Oregon, which is 1,949 feet deep. Clearly, much a deal deeper. While Table Rock Lake is a man-made lake constructed for flood management, Crater Lake is a natural lake formed when Mount Mazama collapsed thousands of years ago. A crater formed at the peak of the fallen volcano, which filled in over time with natural water from rainfall and snowmelt. Even today, all of Crater Lake’s water is freshwater from rain or snow. The National Park Service, which oversees the lake and the Crater Lake National Park surrounding it, works hard to keep one of the world’s cleanest lakes.
Is There a Ghost Town Buried Under Table Rock Lake?
Yes! Maybe not the entire town, but the small community of Oasis, which was located on Long Creek. The settlement was located in the cove that now houses the Big Cedar Lodge. Oasis was established around a riverside mill, which housed a general store, post office, and blacksmith shop.
There were several farms around the river and lake. When the government decided to build the dam on the White River, the residents of Oasis were compelled to migrate. The dam project began in 1954 and was dedicated in 1959. It is estimated that what remains of Oasis’s “Ghost Village” is 100-150 feet beneath the lake’s surface.