Facts About Lake Norman NC

Lake Norman | Cowans Ford Dam | Marshall Steam Station | McGuire Nuclear Station | Area Map

Lake Norman NC

Cowans Ford Dam and Lake Norman - mid to late 60's
Photo from post card (mid to late 60's)

  • Year Built: 1959-1964

  • Area: 32,510 acres at full pond

  • Length:  33.6 miles

  • Width:  9 miles

  • Shore line 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

Cowans Ford Hydro Station
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

McGuire Nuclear Station

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 

     

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

Lake Norman NC area map

Lake Norman | Cowans Ford Dam | Marshall Steam Station | McGuire Nuclear Station | Area Map