Tuttle Creek Lake
| Tuttle Creek Lake | |
|---|---|
Tuttle Creek Dam in 2005; Tuttle Creek Lake is on the left, while the River Pond Area of Tuttle Creek State Park is visible on the right. | |
KDOT map of Pottawatomie County (legend) | |
| Location | Pottawatomie / Riley / Marshall counties in Kansas |
| Coordinates | 39°15′25″N 96°35′32″W / 39.25694°N 96.59222°W |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Big Blue River |
| Primary outflows | Big Blue River to Kansas River |
| Catchment area | 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Managing agency | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks (Tuttle Creek State Park) |
| Max. length | 25 km (16 mi) |
| Max. width | 2 km (1.2 mi) |
| Surface area | 50 km2 (19 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Water volume | 0.41 km3 (0.098 cu mi) (normal level) |
| Shore length1 | 160 km (99 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 328 m (1,076 ft) |
| Settlements | Manhattan |
| References | |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Tuttle Creek Lake is a reservoir on the Big Blue River 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Manhattan, in the Flint Hills region of northeast Kansas. It was built and is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers for the primary purpose of flood control. Secondary functions of the project include release of water stores to maintain barge traffic on the Mississippi River during seasons of drought, maintenance of a multi-use conservation pool for fish and wildlife enhancement and recreation (fishing, hunting, and boating), and release of sufficient water in droughts to maintain water quality for downstream communities.
The base of the dam is bordered by Tuttle Creek State Park, which features 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of recreational areas, including nature trails, camping sites, and an artificial beach. The state park also hosted the Country Stampede music festival every summer from 1996 to 2018, and the Rock The Plains music festival starting in 2025.