Beaver Lake is a human-made reservoir on the upper White River in Northwest Arkansas. Its coves, bluffs and forested shoreline feel completely natural, but the lake exists because Beaver Dam changed the White River valley in the 1960s.

How Beaver Lake Was Created

Congress authorized the project through the Flood Control Act of 1954. Construction began in 1960, commercial power generation started in May 1965, and the overall project was completed in 1966. Beaver is the uppermost of the major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in the White River system.

Before the lake, the White River wound through a rural valley of farms, roads, small communities and historic sites. Families moved, cemeteries were relocated, and rising water covered former homesteads and places such as portions of the Monte Ne resort. Communities including Glade and Pine Log were also affected. What remains below the surface is not one intact “underwater town,” but a scattered cultural landscape of old roadbeds, foundations, former fields and archaeological sites.

Size, Shoreline and Water Levels

At the nominal top of the conservation pool—elevation 1,120.43 feet above mean sea level—the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lists about 28,299 surface acres and roughly 490 miles of shoreline. The lake is not a fixed size. During the May-through-September seasonal pool, the conservation target is one foot higher, and during flood operations the lake can rise toward the flood-control pool at elevation 1,130 feet.

That changing elevation explains why published acreage and shoreline figures sometimes differ. It also makes a single “number of gallons” misleading: the lake’s volume changes continually with rainfall, inflow, water-supply withdrawals and releases through Beaver Dam. Water managers normally describe reservoir volume in acre-feet rather than gallons.

What the Lake Does

Beaver Lake has several jobs. It stores floodwater, supplies drinking water, supports hydropower, provides fish and wildlife habitat, and creates extensive recreation opportunities. Beaver Water District draws from the lake and supplies treated water to Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville, which together distribute it to more than 400,000 people and industries.

Learn how the project works in Beaver Dam: Power & Flood Control.

Why the Water Changes With Depth

In warm weather, deep reservoirs often separate into layers. Sun-warmed surface water sits above colder, denser water. Between them is a transition zone commonly called the thermocline. Its exact depth and temperature move with the season, weather and location, so there is no single year-round “temperature by depth” chart for the entire lake.

These layers matter to fish, anglers and the White River below the dam. Deep water released through Beaver Dam is much colder than the surface during summer. Dissolved oxygen can also become lower in the deepest layer, so water managers monitor temperature and oxygen when deciding how to release water.

Fish and Wildlife

Beaver Lake supports a varied warm-water fishery. Anglers commonly pursue largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, striped bass, crappie, walleye, catfish and sunfish. Fish location changes with season, depth, water temperature, oxygen, cover and available forage.

Around the lake, visitors may see bald eagles, ospreys, great blue herons, kingfishers, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, raccoons, foxes, beavers and many other Ozark species. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but quiet coves and early or late daylight often provide the best opportunities.

The Big Clifty Arm

Big Clifty is the eastern arm of Beaver Lake closest to Eureka Springs and the primary area explored on many Day Trippin cruises. It includes a branching landscape of wooded shorelines, limestone bluffs, narrow hollows and seasonal waterfalls. Hogscald Hollow, Penitentiary Hollow and Pemberton Hollow are among the best-known local features.

“Big Clifty” comes from the name of Big Clifty Creek, which existed before the reservoir. The word clifty is an old regional description for steep, cliff-lined ground. That explanation fits the landscape, but we have not found a definitive historical record documenting exactly who first gave this particular Arkansas creek its name.

BIG CLIFTY PARK PHOTOS COMING SOON

Why the Landscape Looks This Way

Northwest Arkansas is part of the Ozark Plateaus. The region is built largely from layered sedimentary rocks, including limestone, dolomite, chert, sandstone and shale. Over long periods, streams cut into the uplifted plateau while slightly acidic groundwater dissolved fractures in limestone and dolomite.

That combination produced the steep hollows, ledges, springs, caves, sinkholes and bluff faces seen around the lake today. Beaver Lake later filled the lowest parts of this already-carved White River landscape, turning former valleys and stream channels into long arms and coves.

Read more in Why the Ozarks Look This Way.

Lake Levels and Trip Conditions

Lake elevation, inflow and outflow can change after heavy rain, during drought and when water is released for flood control or power generation. Shorelines, exposed rocks, waterfall flow and launch conditions can therefore look different from one visit to the next. For current conditions, consult the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District’s real-time Beaver Lake data.

Explore Beaver Lake With Day Trippin

See the Big Clifty shoreline on a Private Lake Cruise, explore a quiet cove with a Kayak Rental, or continue learning about Hogscald Hollow.