Lake Norman; 33.6 miles (54.1 km) · 9 miles (14 km) · 32,510 acres 50, 80 square miles (132 km). Its average depth is 33.5 feet (10.2 m), but at its outlet it reaches a depth of 110 feet (34 m). The lake is mainly supported by an interspersed igneous and metamorphic bedrock.
Lake Norman
is the largest artificial lake in North Carolina.It is also known as the Inland Sea, since it has 520 miles of coastline and an area of more than 32,475 acres, which makes it almost as large as the other ten lakes of the Catawba River combined. It is named after the former president of Duke Power, Norman Cocke. The land around the lake was very underdeveloped and many different groups of people inhabited the lake region. The proposal to build Lake Norman and the Ford de Cowan Dam had created uncertainty in the community of veterans who lived in these industrial cities.
During the 18th, 19th and part of the 20th centuries, the land surrounding Lake Norman consisted of cultivated fields. The basin is also home to a wide variety of resident animals, many of them unique and rare in the Piedmont area, which thrive thanks to the resources provided by Lake Norman. The fishing and boating regulations in Lake Norman follow the guidelines of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Lake management is complicated by the presence of multiple stakeholders in lake management, often with conflicting interests and priorities.
The construction of the Ford de Cowan Dam and the subsequent creation of Lake Norman in the late 1950s and early 1960s represented only part of a larger hydroelectric project on the Catawba River, which dates back to the early 20th century. The Long Island factory, one of the first cotton mills in the southern United States, opened its doors in the mid-19th century and closed in 1959 before being covered by Lake Norman. In addition, the stork beak or heron beak is found around Lake Norman and serves as food for some small mammals. North of Lake Norman is Statesville, where the first hot air balloon flight took place in North Carolina.
Lake Norman was not the first of Duke Electric's artificial lakes, but the seventh and last to be built. Reptile and amphibian populations have found safe and resource-rich places around the Lake Norman ecosystem. The current size of the area surrounding Lake Norman has eliminated the transportation facility that I-77 originally created. Duke Power Company donated 1,328 acres of land that eventually became Lake Norman State Park in September 1962. The construction of I-77 during the formation of Lake Norman created a fast and efficient way to travel around the cities and towns surrounding the lake, including Charlotte, Huntersville, Davidson and Mooresville.
