Lake Jocassee - South Carolina's Hidden Treasure
Named "Place of the Lost One" because of the legend of the Indian maiden, Jocassee, who was said to have drowned herself in grief over the murder of her lover, this popular recreation area is surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. Waterfalls abound, most notable Whitewater Falls and Laurel Creek Falls.

Lake Jocassee consisting of 7,656 acres was created by damming the tributaries of the Keowee River by Duke Power. Since its waters come directly from cold, clear, protected Appalachian streams, the lake remains cold and clear throughout the year. Around the lake, there is very little development. Most of the surrounding land is untouched by man. Devil's Fork State Park is the only park located on the lake.

In addition to its scenic beauty, Jocassee also offers fisherman the opportunities to catch trout and smallmouth bass, fish species that other South Carolina Lakes don't have. Lake Jocassee is a relatively cool warm-monomictic reservoir. It supports a "two-story" fishery with warmwater fishes in the shallows and rainbow and brown trout in the cooler hypolimnetic waters. Trouts are stocked by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Warmwater fishes include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, redeye bass, crappies and several species of sunfish. South Carolina's state record brown trout and rainbow trout came from Lake Jocassee.

Duke Energy Company began construction of Lake Jocassee in the early 1960's. The Jocassee hydroelectric station began producing electricity in 1973 and flooding of the Lake Jocassee watershed created tremendous recreational opportunities. Lake Jocassee is home to the Jocassee Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Station built in 1973. The dam is 385 feet high and 1,750 feet long. Lake Jocassee has 7,656 acres of water and 75 miles of shoreline. Full pond elevation at Lake Jocassee is 1,110 feet. The station's generators have a total capacity of 610,000 kilowatts of electricity.

Maximum Depth: 326 feet
Mean Depth: 157.7 feet

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