Life On Lake Lanier - Lake Lanier Real Estate

		7/1/2008
Local Information and History of Lake Lanier

5-Day Forecast for Lake Lanier Customize Your Icons! Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 88° F | 61° F 31° C | 16° C 88° F | 65° F 31° C | 18° C 88° F | 68° F 31° C | 20° C 85° F | 67° F 29° C | 19° C 83° F | 67° F 28° C | 19° C Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Chance of T-storms 30% chance of precipitation Chance of T-storms 30% chance of precipitation Chance of T-storms 30% chance of precipitation Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Tomorrow is forecast to be Warmer than today.

Lake Lanier (officially Lake Sidney Lanier ) is a manmade lake in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is also fed by the waters of the Chestatee River. The lake encompasses 38,000 acres or 153.8km of water, and 692 miles or 1114km of shoreline at normal level, a "full summer pool" of 1071.0 feet or 326.4 meters AMSL. It was named for poet Sidney Lanier, and was built and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is patrolled by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR).

The lake is in Hall, Forsyth, Dawson, and Gwinnett counties, by about 60%, 30%, 5%, and 5% respectively, filling the valley into numerous small arms and fingers. The former thalweg of the Chestatee and the Chattahoochee south of it form the county line between Hall and a tiny corner of Gwinnett to the east, and Dawson and Forsyth to the west.

It is extremely popular with boaters, houseboats, jetskiers and others, particularly around the summer holidays. Over 7.5 million people per year visit the lake, including its marinas and the Lake Lanier Islands waterpark. It was used for the rowing events at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Much of Gwinnett's drinking water is also taken from the lake, after filtering out much of the treated wastewater which also goes into it. Requested permits to take more water out for the growing northeast metro Atlanta area, and to dump more of its wastewater in have triggered lawsuits recently.

Two resort hotels sit on the lake, Emerald Pointe and Pine Isle. Both were recently sold by CNL Hotels & Resorts, a hotel investment firm in Florida, to Georgia businessman Virgil Williams. Both assets sit on a ground lease from the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority which in turn leases the land from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

Whether you are drinking a glass of water in one of the many communities that draw from the lake, or you turn on a light during the peak hours of the day and it works, or you are sitting on a campsite watching the sun go down, the Lake Lanier portion of the Chattahoochee River is an integral part of your life and the lives of more than 5 million area residents. Just as with all other parts of the Chattahoochee River in north Georgia a great deal of controversy exists around virtually every aspect of the lake.

The Lake we call Lanier

Underneath Belton Bridge the Chattahoochee River reaches a key altitude, 1071 feet. The river slows and begins to back up as Lake Lanier is formed. The 26-mile long lake covers almost 47 miles of original riverbed. Along its shores lies growing cities, upscale homes, family fun, and plenty of public access areas for those who want to participate in all kinds of outdoor recreation.

Although the lake only covers 38,000 acres the Corps of Engineers purchased a total of 58,000 acres, the rest accounting for shoreline and islands. Along the shore are private marinas including

• Gainesville Marina
• Aqualand
• Starboard
• Holiday
• Lanier Harbor
• Bald Ridge
• Lazy Days
• Sunrise
• Lan Mar
• Habersham

External links

• Lake Sidney Lanier at GNIS
• Lake Lanier at USACE
• Lake Lanier protection
• Lake Lanier - About North Georgia