Today I did research on what most people refer to as Truman Lake. It is one of my favorite places to be and I learned a lot of interesting facts about it and its history. For example, it is the largest manmade lake in Missouri. It was originally called Kaysinger Bluff Dam and Reservoir in 1954 when construction was authorized but construction didn’t begin for another ten years in 1964. Then in 1970, it was renamed Harry S Truman Dam and Reservoir after the former president from Missouri. I was surprised to find out that construction of the lake took fifteen years and was not completed until 1979. I had no idea that it took fifteen years to make a lake. Apparently, it took years of planning and roads, cemeteries, railroads and even towns had to be relocated. One of the most interesting facts that I learned was that the south-west portion of the lake makes up part of the Weableau-Osceola Structure. I have been to Weableau and Osceola before but I had never heard of this “structure”. I really thought Osceola was only known for its cheese. It turns out that it is believed to be a 310-340 year old meteorite impact site caused by a 1200 foot meteoroid. I guess they say believed to be because no one was around at that time to witness it but it is a 12 mile circular area. It is one of the fifty largest known impact craters in the world and the fourth largest in the United States. In the Osceola area they still have round rocks that they believe were created from the impact. They call them “round rocks” or “Missouri rock balls”. They are almost perfectly round. I am putting a picture of one below. The website I was looking at said they could be found frequently on the ground.
This is so very interesting. I love it when students write about Missouri - I am not a native and want to learn more. ~Ms. A.
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