page_title: Youghiogheny River Lake
hierarchical_section_title: Youghiogheny River Lake
caption_attribution_description: English: Youghiogheny Lake and Dam on the Youghiogheny River — near Confluence, Pennsylvania, USA. The dam and river span the border between Somerset and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the dam for flood control on the Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers.
context_page_description: The Youghiogheny River Lake is a flood control reservoir in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. The lake is a significant tourist attraction, bringing over one million visitors a year to the area.
  The lake was formed in 1944 by the damming of the Youghiogheny River upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania. Youghiogheny Dam is an earthen structure, 184 feet high and 1,610 feet long at its crest, owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoir's normal surface area is about 4.4 square miles, and it has a maximum capacity of 300,000 acre feet, although its normal storage level is 149,300 acre feet. The dam facilitates flood control, improves river flow and provides hydroelectricity sufficient to power 8,000 homes. U.S. Route 40 crosses the lake between Jockey Hollow on the Fayette County side and Somerfield on the Somerset County side.
  Somerfield was laid out on the western edge of Addison Township, Somerset County, about 1816 by Philip D. Smyth, who originally named the settlement Smythfield. Somerfield was abandoned, razed, and inundated when the reservoir was filled in the 1940s.
context_section_description: The Youghiogheny River Lake is a flood control reservoir in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. The lake is a significant tourist attraction, bringing over one million visitors a year to the area.
  The lake was formed in 1944 by the damming of the Youghiogheny River upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania.  Youghiogheny Dam is an earthen structure, 184 feet (56 m) high and 1,610 feet (490 m) long at its crest, owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.  The reservoir's normal surface area is about 4.4 square miles (11 km²), and it has a maximum capacity of 300,000 acre feet (370,000,000 m³), although its normal storage level is 149,300 acre feet (184,200,000 m³). The dam facilitates flood control, improves river flow and provides hydroelectricity sufficient to power 8,000 homes. U.S. Route 40 crosses the lake between Jockey Hollow on the Fayette County side and Somerfield on the Somerset County side.
  Somerfield was laid out on the western edge of Addison Township, Somerset County, about 1816 by Philip D. Smyth, who originally named the settlement Smythfield. Somerfield was abandoned, razed, and inundated when the reservoir was filled in the 1940s. The stone Great Crossings Bridge of the National Road, which crossed the Youghiogheny at Somerfield, is visible at extremely low water levels. The triple-arch sandstone bridge was constructed between 1815 and 1818 by James Kinkead, James Beck, and Evan Evans. It was 40 feet high and 30 feet wide and 375 feet long. The landmark bridge was dedicated on July 4, 1818, with President James Monroe in attendance.
caption: The Yoghiogheny River Lake as viewed from below the Youghiogheny Dam
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