Facts About Lake Norman NC and a Map

Facts About Lake Norman NC

Lake Norman NC


Photo from postcard (mid to late 60’s)

  • Year Built: 1959-1964

  • Area: 32,510 acres at full pond

  • Length:  33.6 miles

  • Width:  9 miles

  • Shoreline length:  520 miles

  • Maximum Depth: 110 feet

  • Average Depth: 33.5 feet

  • Maximum Drawdown: 15 feet

  • Capacity: 3.4 trillion gallons of water

  • Volume: 1,093,600 acre-feet

  • Elevation at full pond:  760 feet above MSL

  • Retention Time: 207 days (average)

  • Drainage Area: 1,790 square miles

  • Average River Flow @ Cowans Ford Dam: 1,726 MGD

  • Named for:  Norman Atwater Cocke (former president of Duke Power)

  • Source of the Catawba River: McDowell County near Mount Mitchell

  • Lake level: Call 1-800-829-5253 or click here

  • Location:  Lat: 35.5177689 Lon: -80.9557724

Cowans Ford Dam


Photo from Cowans Ford Dam Overlook  9-10-04

  • Total length: 7,387 feet  (1,279 feet is concrete, 6,108 feet is earthen)

  • Maximum height:  130 feet

  • Number of generators:  4

  • Generating capacity:  350,000 kilowatts

  • Note:  Site of crucial 1781 revolutionary war battle between British General Cornwallis and American General Davidson and it forms Lake Norman. General Davidson Monument

  • Click here for a satellite view of Cowans Ford Dam

McGuire Nuclear Station


McGuire Nuclear Station Sept 2004

  • Generation units:  2

  • Energy source:  Uranium Dioxide (UO2)

  • Generating capacity:  2258 megawatts (20% of Duke’s total)

  • Construction:  1971 – 1981

  • Cost:  $2 Billion

  • Named for:  William Bulgin McGuire, president of Duke Power from 1959 to 1971.

  • Employees:  1185

  • Location:

    • Huntersville, NC

    • 17 miles northwest of Charlotte

    • At Hwy. 73 and the Catawba River

    • 700-acre site

    Click here for a satellite view of the McGuire Nuclear Station

Marshall Steam Station

  • Generation units:  4

  • Energy Source: Coal (18,000 tons per day at full power)

  • Generating capacity:  2,090 megawatts (14% of Duke’s total)

  • Commercial Operation:  1965

  • Named for:  E.C. Marshall, president of Duke Power from 1949 to 1953.

  • Location:

    • Denver, NC

    • 2 miles west of the Catawba River on Hwy 150

  • Note:  Marshall is the second largest coal-burning station on the Duke system. The four-unit station has consistently ranked as one of the most efficient coal plants in the nation.

Lake Norman NC Area Map