Pactola Lake
Reservoir in Pennington County, South Dakota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pactola Lake is the largest and deepest reservoir in the Black Hills, located 15 miles (24 km) west of Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Constructed in 1952, the dam and waters are managed by the Bureau of Reclamation, with the surrounding land managed by the US Forest Service as part of Black Hills National Forest, which operates a visitor center located on the south side of the dam.[2] Facilities include campgrounds, hiking trails, picnic areas, cliffs, and a beach.[1][3]
| Pactola Lake | |
|---|---|
| |
  Pactola Lake Location within South Dakota  Pactola Lake Location within the United States | |
| Location | Pennington County, South Dakota |
| Coordinates | 44°04′23″N 103°29′35″W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Basin countries | United States |
Surface area | 800 acres (3.2 km2)[1] |
Average depth | 55 ft (17 m) |
| Max. depth | 150 ft (46 m)[1] |
Water volume | 54,000 to 94,000 acre⋅ft (67 to 116 hm3) |
Shore length1 | 14 mi (23 km)[1] |
Surface elevation | 4,655 ft (1,419 m) above sea level at the top of the spillway |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
History
Pactola Dam was built in 1952 by federal authorities to provide Rapid City with a new water supply, following the related construction of Deerfield Dam in 1945.[4] The new reservoir inundated the mining town of Pactola,[5] and construction was completed in 1956 after the movement of more than 4.3 million cubic yards (3.3×106 m3) of embankment fill. Severe thunderstorms in 1972 that caused flooding in Rapid City led to dam modifications to ensure safety, with further safety modifications in 1987.[3]
Ecology
Many fish live in Pactola Lake, including lake and brown trout as well as perch and bass.[1][6] An invasive zebra mussel infestation was detected in the summer of 2022.[7][8]
