Harlan County Lake

Water type: Artificial lake
Continent: North America
Climate: Continental

The Harlan County Reservoir includes a dam and a reservoir of 13,250 acres (54 km2) located in Harlan County in south-central Nebraska. Its southernmost part extends into northern Phillips County, Kansas. The reservoir is formed by a dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Republican River, which starts in Colorado and ends in Kansas.

The two closest towns are Republican City and Alma. Republican City offers fishing supplies, boat rentals, restaurants and cabins. When the lake is at normal pool, Alma is on the shore line of the lake and offers lodging, restaurants, stores, and churches.

With a surface covering 13,250 acres (54 km2), the Harlan County Reservoir lake sits in bottom lands of the Republican River Valley. Located seven miles (11 km) from the Nebraska/Kansas border, the lake is nine miles (14 km) long and has about 75 miles (121 km) of shore line. The Reservoir’s dam sits on the Republican River two miles (3 km) south of Republican City. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the river valley got its name from the Republican Pawnee Indian tribe who inhabited the area. The land consists of thick trees and brush as most river bottoms do. Harlan County Reservoir is Nebraska’s second largest lake.

The Harlan County Lake has fish species such as walleye, white bass, wipers, catfish, crappie and pike. Ice fishing is popular on the reservoir as well.

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