Excerpt from Jordan Lake State Recreation Area General Management Plan

The B. Everett Jordan Dam and Lake project encompasses federally owned acres located near the eastern edge of a region of rolling hills known as the Piedmont plateau. Almost all of the project acreage is leased to the state. The leased acreage is managed by three state agencies the Wildlife Resources Commission, the Division of Forest Resources, and the Division of Parks and Recreation (dpr). Dpr manages approximately acres of land at nine sites located along the shore of the - acre lake. These sites comprise the state recreation area and provide public access to the lake for water-based recreational activities.

Approximately 150 miles of shoreline are created by the lake at a water level of 216 feet above mean sea level. The lake's shoreline is characterized by gentle hills and forested areas of second growth pine and hardwoods. The impounded waters are part of the Haw River sub-basin of the Cape Fear River basin. The drainage area above the dam covers a square mile drainage area. Lake waters extend five miles up the Haw River, a swiftly moving river having a narrow valley and a steep stream gradient, and 17 miles up the New Hope River, a slow-moving river with a wider flood plain and gentle stream gradient.

When the lake was filled in 1981, the project area and its surroundings were generally rural in character. Today the lake is surrounded by the major urban areas of Raleigh and Cary to the east and Durham and Chapel Hill to the north. These urban areas are steadily growing towards the lake, and this growth is increasingly changing the area's rural character. Many subdivisions have been or are being constructed near the lake, and commercial development continues as well.

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