Lake Anna facts for kids
Lake Anna is one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the US state of Virginia. It covers a huge area of 13,000 acres (about 53 square kilometers). This popular lake is located 72 miles (116 km) south of Washington, D.C., in Louisa and Spotsylvania counties. It's also easy to reach from cities like Richmond and Charlottesville. Lake Anna is a favorite spot for fun activities and is one of Virginia's most popular recreational lakes.
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History of Lake Anna
Gold Mining and Lake Creation
Did you know that gold was found in Louisa county way back in 1829? Gold mining became very popular in the 1880s. The area where the Goodman gold mine once stood is now covered by Lake Anna!
The lake was created by building the North Anna Dam on the North Anna River. In 1968, a company called Virginia Electric and Power Company (now known as Dominion) bought a large amount of farmland. They planned to use the land to build a nuclear power plant next to the lake. The lake would provide cool, fresh water to help cool down the power plant's generators.
Filling the Lake and Early Communities
By 1972, the lake bed was cleared of all trees, and the dam was almost finished. Experts thought it would take about three years for the lake to fill completely with water. But thanks to extra rainfall from Hurricane Agnes, the lake filled up much faster, in just 18 months!
Around the same time, the first neighborhoods and communities started to appear around the lake. Today, there are about 120 different communities along the lake's shores. In 1986, work began on a small hydroelectric power plant at the dam. This plant started making electricity in December 1987.
Exploring Lake Anna
Public and Private Sides
Lake Anna is about 17 miles (27 km) long from one end to the other. It has a very long shoreline, stretching about 200 miles (300 km)! The lake is split into two main parts: the public side and the private side.
The public side is often called the "cold" side and covers about 9,000 acres (36 km²). The private side is known as the "hot" side and is smaller, about 4,000 acres (16 km²). Three stone walls, called dikes, separate these two parts of the lake.
Access and Activities
The private side of the lake is only for property owners and employees of the North Anna Power Station. It doesn't have any public marinas or boat ramps. This means it's usually much quieter.
The public side, however, has several marinas and boat launches, including a boat ramp at the state park. Because it's open to everyone, the public side gets a lot more boat traffic, especially on summer weekends.
Water Temperature Differences
The public side is called the "cold" side because it supplies water to cool the generators at the power plant. The private, or "hot," side receives warm water that is released from the power plant. This means the private side can be much warmer than the public side, especially close to where the warm water comes out. Sometimes, it can even be too hot for swimming in those areas!
Because it's warmer, the private side has a longer season for water sports. Some water from the private side also flows back into the public side through underground channels. This makes the southern part of the public side, near the dam, a bit warmer too. In the winter, some fish like to move to these warmer spots.
There have been discussions about adding another reactor to the power plant. Some environmental groups and property owners are concerned this might make the water even warmer and lower the water level, especially on the private side. Dominion, the power company, says the water released from the plant is usually about 14 degrees F warmer than the water taken in.
North Anna Dam
The North Anna Dam is a very important part of Lake Anna. It's an earthen embankment dam that is about 5,000 feet (1,524 m) long and 90 feet (27 m) high. The top of the dam is 30 feet (9 m) wide and sits at an elevation of 265 feet (81 m) above sea level.
The dam has a spillway in its center, which helps control the water level. The normal water level for the lake is 250 feet (76 m). On the west side of the spillway, there's a small hydroelectric power plant. It gets water through a large 5-foot (1.5 m) wide pipe and can produce 1 megawatt of electricity.
Fishing at Lake Anna
Lake Anna is known as one of the best places in Virginia for Largemouth bass fishing. Besides largemouth bass, you can also find striped bass, crappie, channel catfish, walleye, and several types of sunfish here.
Because of the warm water and low Oxygen saturation, striped bass and walleye need to be stocked (added to the lake) regularly to keep their populations healthy. Lake Anna has a good number of channel catfish, with many weighing around 3 pounds.
Since the water stays warm, you can fish at Lake Anna all year long! It's a very popular lake for fun activities like boating, Water skiing, and Jet Skiing. Because of this, Lake Anna can get very crowded. Many fishermen prefer to go early in the morning or late at night when fewer people are on the lake.
Images for kids
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North Anna Dam
