Lake of the Ozarks

The Lake of the Ozarks is a large reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Extents of three smaller tributaries to the Osage, the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek, and Gravois Creek, are included in the impoundment. The lake has a surface area of 54000acre, 1150mi of shoreline, and the main channel of the Osage Arm stretches 92mi from end to end. The total drainage area is over 14000sqmi. The lake's serpentine shape has earned it the nickname "The Magic Dragon", which has in turn inspired the names of local institutions such as The Magic Dragon Street Meet.HistoryA hydro-electric power plant on the Osage River was first pursued by Kansas City developer Ralph Street in 1912. Street put together the initial funding and began building roads, railroads and infrastructure necessary to begin construction of the dam, with a plan to impound a much smaller lake. In the mid-1920s, Street’s funding dried up and he abandoned the effort.The lake was created by the construction of the 2543ft long Bagnell Dam by Union Electric Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The principal engineering firm was Stone and Webster. Construction began August 8, 1929, was completed in April 1931, and reached spillway elevation on May 20, 1931. During construction the lake was referred to as "Osage Reservoir" or "Lake Osage". The Missouri General Assembly officially named it "Lake Benton" after the former Senator Thomas Hart Benton. None of the names took as it was popularly referred to by its location in the Ozarks. The electric generating station, however, is still referred to by the utility company as the "Osage Hydroelectric Plant".