Facts about Lake of the Ozarks

Lake of the Ozarks is located in central Missouri. We are approximately 170 miles west of St. Louis, 150 miles east of Kansas City, 70 miles south of Columbia, Missouri where the University of Missouri is

located, and 70 miles north of Springfield where Missouri State University is located. The area is comprised of the counties Camden, Miller, and Morgan.

The population of the three county area is somewhere around 72,000, which is made up of 16 small communities none of which are over 5,000 in population - most are in the 500-1,500 range.

The lake itself is a public area with its #1 priority being to create electricity, its #2 priority is to provide recreational use for the public, and the #3 priority is flood control. The Lake of the Ozarks holds 54,000 acres of water and is surrounded by 1,150 miles of shoreline. Above us is Carmen Lake, which came into existence in the late 70 to the early 80s and is operated by the Corp of Engineers. Its first priority is that of flood control, with its second priority being to generate electricity. These two lakes both fall under the umbrella of the Osage River Watershed. The Osage River pours into the Missouri River, which of course eventually flows into the Mississippi River.