Leesville Lake is a reservoir in Virginia used for hydroelectric power generation in conjunction with Smith Mountain Lake as a pump storage project. It is located southeast of Roanoke, and southwest of Lynchburg.
Smaller and lower than Smith Mountain Lake, Leesville Lake covers 3,270 acres (13.2 km2) and contains 94,900 acre-feet (117,100,000 m3) of water at full pond. The lake is 17 miles (27 km) long with around 110 miles (180 km) of shoreline. The reservoir lies in a broad valley nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of rural southwestern Virginia of the Appalachian chain. Before the lake’s creation, farming and logging were the primary industries.
