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OmahaRiverFront.com
- RIVER NEWS
The making of Carter Lake
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Thursday
August 2, 2001
By Nancy Neurohr |
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 ou're
flying into Omaha for the first time. As you hear the announcement
to prepare for landing, you look out the window and notice the
Missouri River below you. This can be a little frightening all by
itself if you weren't aware that Omaha's Eppley Airfield was
located right next to the river.
As you depart from the airport, you notice there is a beautiful
lake right in front of you. What you don't realize is that this
lake used to be part of the Missouri River.
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 What
is even more confusing is that this lake is located in Carter Lake,
Iowa. You don't have to be a geographical genius to know that the
state of Iowa is on the eastern side of the Missouri River and you
haven't crossed any bridges that you're aware of. Relax, you
haven't made a wrong turn, the river just shifted a bit back in
1877 and left a part of Iowa on the Nebraska side which is now
known as Carter Lake.
On
March 16, 1877, an ice gorge choked the entrance to what was then
known as Saratoga Bend.
The
current started to cut a new channel at right angles to the bend.
An unprecedented summer rise in the river caused it to eventually
cut itself across the bend.
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Circulation stopped in the old channel and the lake was formed. It
was originally called Cut-Off Lake but was later changed to Lake
Nicoma (for the fabled Omaha Indian wife of Peter A. Sarpy). Two
years later, the name was changed again to Carter Lake (after the
white lead magnate, Levi Carter).
The oxbow lake you see today is approximately 323 acres. The town
of Carter Lake itself has around
3,248 residents. Many changes have taken place over the years in
the community. Once known as a place that housed many undesirables,
it is now a prime location for many upscale homes that start at
$250,000.
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There is also a lakeside golf course and Levi Carter Park has
hosted many outdoor concerts over the past few years.
Carter
Lake has also become a premier location for water-skiers, jet-skis
and other water craft. The National Champion Powerboat Races have
been held there the past couple years.
While driving past the lake on your way towards the downtown Omaha
skyline, you'll also be driving on the shortest highway in Iowa. IA
165, as it is legally known, has no other connection to the outside
world except via Abbott Drive in Omaha.  |
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