Missouri’s Prettiest Lake is Really a Fake, But for a Good Reason

If you believe that the best things in nature are those that come natural, you may be interested to know that the lake many consider to be the prettiest in Missouri is really a fake. But, there's a very good reason for that, too.

Somewhat recently, Reader's Digest named the prettiest lake for each state and their choice for Missouri is a common one. I believe if you asked 10 random people in Missouri what the prettiest lake is, at least 8 would pick this one, too.

What is the prettiest lake in Missouri (according to Reader's Digest)?

It's Table Rock Lake, of course. There's just one tiny problem. It isn't real. Well, it's real, but it's artificial. As Wikipedia mentions, Table Rock Lake was created by the US Army Corp of Engineers between 1954 and 1958. There was a very noble reason for Table Rock Lake being made as it was originally intended to control flooding on the White River.

I don't know if it was the original vision for the US Army Corp of Engineers, but the result of their White River damming efforts is one of (if not the) prettiest lakes not just in Missouri, but anywhere.

An amazing result for what really is a big faker, but in Missouri we wouldn't want Table Rock Lake any other way.