Youghiogheny River Lake

The Youghiogheny River Lake is a flood control reservoir in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. The lake is a significant tourist attraction, bringing over one million visitors a year to the area.[3]

Youghiogheny River Lake
The Yoghiogheny River Lake as viewed from below the Youghiogheny Dam
Youghiogheny River Lake
Youghiogheny River Lake
Youghiogheny River Lake
LocationFayette / Somerset counties, Pennsylvania, and Garrett County, Maryland
Coordinates39°47′52″N 079°22′09″W
Typereservoir
Primary inflowsYoughiogheny River
Primary outflowsYoughiogheny River
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length16 miles (26 km)[1]
Surface elevation1,440 feet (440 m)[2]

The lake was formed in 1944 by the damming of the Youghiogheny River upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania.[3] Youghiogheny Dam is an earthen structure, 184 feet (56 m) high and 1,610 feet (490 m) long at its crest, owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[4] The reservoir's normal surface area is about 4.4 square miles (11 km2), and it has a maximum capacity of 300,000 acre feet (370,000,000 m3), although its normal storage level is 149,300 acre feet (184,200,000 m3).[4] The dam facilitates flood control, improves river flow and provides hydroelectricity sufficient to power 8,000 homes.[1] U.S. Route 40 crosses the lake between Jockey Hollow on the Fayette County side and Somerfield on the Somerset County side.[5]

Somerfield, Somerset County, PA, 1860 (note orientation of map: north at bottom)

Somerfield was laid out on the western edge of Addison Township, Somerset County, about 1816 by Philip D. Smyth, who originally named the settlement Smythfield.[6] Somerfield was abandoned, razed, and inundated when the reservoir was filled in the 1940s. The stone Great Crossings Bridge of the National Road, which crossed the Youghiogheny at Somerfield, is visible at extremely low water levels.[7] The triple-arch sandstone bridge was constructed between 1815 and 1818 by James Kinkead, James Beck, and Evan Evans.[7] It was 40 feet high and 30 feet wide[7] and 375 feet long.[8] The landmark bridge was dedicated on July 4, 1818, with President James Monroe in attendance.[7]

References
  1. Youghiogheny River Lake at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Youghiogheny River Lake
  3. Palmer, Tim (1984). Youghiogheny, Appalachian River. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-82293-495-0.
  4. United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey (1968). Water Resources Data for Pennsylvania: Part 1 Surface Water Records. Harrisburg: United States Geological Survey. p. 248.
  5. "Youghiogheny River Lake Project Map". Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  6. History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania. Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co. 1884. p. 572.
  7. Lowry, Patricia (January 7, 1999). "A bridge to the 19th century: Falling water-level of Youghiogheny unearths ghost town, historical crossing". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 1, 2020.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. Heberling, Scott D. (2010). Historic Bridges of Somerset County, Pennsylvania (PDF). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation. p. 7.



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