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Within the state of Virginia, Lake Anna is the 2nd largest of the state's lakes. Lake Anna has over 250 miles of shoreline and 13,000 acres of water surface area. Lake Anna is know for it's great water sports and fishing, easily accessible in the Central Virginia piedmont area. Initially, a fantastic vacation area, it has become a very popular place for permanent residences also.
Lake Anna History
Lake Anna was created to cool the waters of Dominion Power's North Anna Nuclear Power Plant. Creating a 90 foot high dam on the North Anna River, the lake flooded the north side of the dam for approximately 17 miles following the path of the North Anna River. It Additionally flooded Pamunkey Creek which forks to the north at the "splits" approximately 9 miles north of the dam, along with a number of tributaries off of the main lake and Pamunkey Creek.
To provide a cooling "system" for the warm waters generated by the plant, 3 main tributaries southwest of the dam, were separated from the main lake with 3 dikes. The water from the plant is pumped into the most western tributary, which then flow to the 2nd and 3rd where it then flows back into the main lake, just west of the dam. Allowing these warm waters to flow through these restricted tributaries, allows the warm power plant water to cool, before being returned to the main lake.
Lake Anna Geography
Lake Anna is situated in north central Virginia, centrally located between Fredericksburg, Richmond, Charlottesville and Culpeper, Virginia. Virginia counties that border Lake Anna are Louisa along the south shore, Spotsylvania along it's north and northeast shores and Orange along it's northwest shore.
Warm (Private) v.s. Cold (Public) sides
of Lake Anna
The 3 tributaries, separated from the main lake, are known as the "warm" or "private" side of Lake Anna. Since this side does not have any marina or launching facilities, only those residents and guests that have access directly to these properties can utilize this side for boating and fishing. Due to the "private" nature of this side, some prefer properties located here. Additionally, the fishing is supposidly better as this side of the lake remains warmer into the winter months.
The main lake or "public" side is much larger than the private side and includes marinas and launch ramps, camping facilities, the Lake Anna State Park and a number of other amenities.
Living at Lake Anna
Properties around the lake are generally within communities, most which have Owner's Associations and a variety of rules and regulations. Most communities offer waterfront, water view and water access properties of all price ranges. Depending on the community location, waterfront and water view properties can either be directly on the main lake or on one of the lake's tributaries. Lake Access homes normally do not have direct access to the lake shore or views of the lake, however most communities offer common areas with boat docks and access to the lake along with picnic area, beaches, tennis courts etc.
Boating on Lake Anna
Because the main lake is more available to the public, boat traffic is generally heavier than the private side. In order to boat the private side of the lake, you need to either live there or know someone who will allow you to use their facilities. Boating limitations on the lake are few on the lower side (from the dam to the splits), as only one bridge crosses it. This bridge is the main bridge crossing the lake, and is high enough to allow most boats underneath. Bridges on the upper lake (North Anna River and Pamunkey Creek), are generally lower and can restrict some boats due to their height. Also, the higher reaches of the upper lake, become very shallow where the North Anna River and Pamunkey Creek turn from actual lake to the creeks that feed the lake.
Lake Anna Fishing
Lake Anna is a fishing hotspot with over 30 species of fish including large mouth bass, striped bass, walleye, catfish, crappie, bluegill and white and yellow perch. Either using your own boat, fishing from the docks or using our many marina facilities, fishing is available to all of our permanent or vacationing residents and guests.
