Cookson Hills
The Cookson Hills are in eastern Oklahoma. They are an extension of the Boston Mountains of Arkansas to the east and the southwestern margin of the Ozark Plateau. They lie generally between Stilwell, Sallisaw and Tahlequah. The area became part ...
, on the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...
in
Sequoyah
Sequoyah ( ; , , or , , ; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and Constructed script, neographer of the Cherokee Nation.
In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabl ...
Haskell
Haskell () is a general-purpose, statically typed, purely functional programming language with type inference and lazy evaluation. Designed for teaching, research, and industrial applications, Haskell pioneered several programming language ...
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, US. It is about eight miles south of the nearest major town,
Sallisaw, Oklahoma
Sallisaw is a city in and the county seat of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 8,510, a 4.2 percent decrease over the figure of 8,880 recorded in 2010. Sallisaw is part of the Fort Smith met ...
. The reservoir is impounded by Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam at
river mile
A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its river mouth, mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometre, kilometers is the river kilometer. They are an ...
336.2 (km 541.1) on the Arkansas River, just a few miles below its confluence with the
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which provides for barge navigation on the Arkansas River and some of its tributaries. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the locks and navigation system.
The lock and dam were constructed by the Corps of Engineers. Prior to starting construction in 1963, the project was identified as Short Mountain Lock and Dam, but was renamed in honor of the late Oklahoma Senator, who had spent much of his political career pushing for the Arkansas River to be made navigable.Townsend, Jay. "5 Oklahoma Locks and Dams on the Ark. River Navigation System." Pace Setter Live. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. November 10, 2016. Accessed September 22, 2017. The project was completed in 1970 at a cost of $94.566 million ($501 million in 2007 dollars).Dollar worth calculator at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis The dam also contains a small
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power plant with four units capable of producing a combined total of 110
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
s.
In 2002, the I-40 bridge disaster occurred when a barge hit a bridge that carried
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
over the reservoir.
Recreation
The
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
and surrounds are popular destinations for boating, fishing and hunting. Facilities at the lake include boat ramps, picnic areas, RV and tent campsites, swimming beaches, hiking trails and concession stands. The Army Corps of Engineers also manages over surrounding the lake for public hunting. Observation decks at the lake's visitors center allow guests to view barges and private watercraft as they pass through the lock system on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
The lock, dam, and reservoir are named after Robert S. Kerr, former governor of Oklahoma and U.S.
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
from Oklahoma, who died in 1963.
Gallery
File:USACE Robert S Kerr Lock and Dam.jpg
File:Robert S Kerr Reservoir aerial view 1.jpg, Aerial view upriver from lock and dam
Kerr
Kerr may refer to:
People
*Kerr (surname)
*Kerr (given name) Places
;United States
*Kerr Township, Champaign County, Illinois
*Kerr, Montana, A US census-designated place
*Kerr, Ohio, an unincorporated community
*Kerr County, Texas
Kerr Co ...