Smithville Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

on the Little Platte branch of the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, w ...

Clay County, Missouri Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335, making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Lib ...

near Smithville. It is the largest body of water in the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. The reservoir provides the water supply for Smithville, Missouri The lake was built and is administered by the Kansas City office of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

and was built primarily for flood control. The lake is 10th largest of Corps lakes in the district, but third in terms of shoreline. It has of public land and of shoreline.

History

Smithville Dam was authorized in 1965. Construction began in 1972 with the dam being completed in 1977. Impoundment began in 1979. The dam is of earthen construction and is long. At its crest it is high and contains a maximum capacity of . It is owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers.

Geography

The Smithville Lake spans two counties in Missouri, with the bulk of the reservoir located in northwestern Clay County and the rest in southwestern Clinton County, Missouri.

Communities

The largest community around the Smithville Lake is the eponymous Smithville, Missouri located directly west of the reservoir. The other communties around the lake include the cities Plattsburg and Trimble and the census-desginated place of Paradise. The

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of Arley is located just southeast of the reservoir's easternmost arm.

Recreation

Many recreation activities are present around the Smithville Lake including boating, fishing, golfing, and hunting. Four major parks are located along the reservoir in Clay County: Camp Branch Park, Crows Creek Park, Little Platte Park, and Smith's Fork City Park. There are two state protected lands located around Smithville Lake which are both in Clinton County: Trimble Wildlife Management Area and Smithville Lake State Wildlife Area.

Visitor Center

The Jerry L. Litton Visitor Center by the dam tells the history of the area, as well as has memorabilia about the Congressman who died in a plane crash on election night after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1976.

Fishing

The Smithville Lake is home to many species of fish; some of the most popular include bass,

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...

, and

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

. The

Missouri Department of Conservation The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitut ...

has identified hundreds of fish attractors around the reservoir to aid fishers.

References

External links

Official Corps of Engineers site
{{authority control Protected areas of Clay County, Missouri Protected areas of Clinton County, Missouri Buildings and structures in Clay County, Missouri Reservoirs in Missouri Dams in Missouri United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Bodies of water of Clay County, Missouri Bodies of water of Clinton County, Missouri Bodies of water of Kansas City metropolitan area