TVA created Kentucky Lake for the purpose of controlling floods on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Since that time the priorities have expanded to generating electricity, commercial transportation and recreation. Both the states of Kentucky and Tennessee lay claim to this gigantic body of water. Before the lake was formed, the Tennessee River flowed north through Tennessee into Kentucky. To harness this mass of water the dam was placed in Kentucky, hence the name Kentucky Lake. This great body of water is one of the largest manmade lakes in the United States. It is 184 miles long and has over 2,000 miles of shoreline. Although the lake was not formed for recreational purposes, it has evolved into one of the great vacation playgrounds in the nation.