Lake Hudson (Oklahoma) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lake Hudson Dam |
|
|---|---|
 Location within Oklahoma
|
|
| Country | United States |
| Location | Mayes County, Oklahoma |
| Coordinates | 36°14′00″N 95°10′55″W / 36.23343°N 95.18191°W |
| Construction began | December 1961 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Height | 645 ft (197 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Hudson (Markham Ferry Reservoir) |
| Total capacity | nominal: 200,300 acre⋅ft (247,100,000 m3) maximum: 400,000 acre⋅ft (490,000,000 m3) |
| Surface area | 12,000 acres (49 km2) |
| Website hudson.uslakes.info/DamInfo.asp?DamID=102046 |
|
Lake Hudson, also known as Markham Ferry Reservoir, is a large man-made lake in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located about 2 miles northwest of Locust Grove, Oklahoma and 8 miles southeast of Pryor, Oklahoma. This lake was created in 1964 when the Robert S. Kerr Dam was finished on the Grand River. The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) is in charge of managing Lake Hudson.
Contents
Building the Dam and Lake
The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) started building the Markham Ferry Dam in December 1961. This was the second big project GRDA built to make electricity from the Grand River. The first project was the Pensacola Dam, which created Grand Lake o' the Cherokees. The Markham Ferry project was finished in April 1964, and that's when Lake Hudson was formed.
About the Robert S. Kerr Dam
The Robert S. Kerr Dam is made from a mix of concrete and earth. It has a special part called a concrete ogee weir spillway. This spillway helps control the water flow.
The dam is about 4,494 feet long, which includes the power station. It stands about 90 feet tall above the riverbed. The spillway has seventeen gates, each one is 40 feet wide and 37 feet tall. Two special machines move these gates. The dam can handle a lot of water, up to 609,000 cubic feet per second.
Lake Hudson's Size and Features
Lake Hudson covers a surface area of 12,000 acres, which is like 18.75 square miles. It has a long shoreline, stretching about 200 miles. The normal water level of the lake is 619 feet above sea level.
The lake can hold about 200,300 acre-feet of water at its normal level. When there's a lot of rain, the lake can hold extra water for flood control, up to 636 feet above sea level. The very top of the Kerr Dam is 645 feet above sea level.
How the Dam Makes Electricity
The power station at the dam has four large machines called hydroelectric turbines. These turbines work together to create a total of 114,000 kilowatts of electricity. The GRDA says that in an average year, the dam can produce 211 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Lake Hudson also provides water for another important project nearby. This is the Salina Pumped Storage Project, which uses water to store energy.
Snowdale State Park (Now Closed)
Snowdale State Park used to be a popular spot on Lake Hudson in Eastern Oklahoma. People visited the park for many fun activities. You could enjoy different water sports on the lake. Other things to do included camping, hiking, swimming, and playing volleyball.
The park was also a great place for fishing. People often caught bass, catfish, perch, and crappie there. Snowdale State Park had useful facilities like a lighted boat ramp, a swimming beach, a playground, and picnic areas. There were also places to camp with RV sites and tent sites.
The park was about 1 mile west of Salina. It covered an area of 15 acres and was built in 1959. In 2019, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation decided not to continue leasing the land from the Grand River Dam Authority. Because of this, Snowdale State Park was closed. It is now known as the Snowdale Area at Grand Lake State Park.
