Sunrise Beach is a beautiful community located in Missouri, the Show-Me State, next to the awe-inspiring Lake of the Ozarks. The Lake of the Ozarks itself was created due to construction of Bagnell Dam. In the 1920's and early 1930's, Sunrise Beach and surrounding communities consisted of nothing more than vast areas of timber and brush. After the construction of Bagnell Dam by Union Electric, several communities sprang up around the lake, primarily due to the beauty inherent in this area. Sunrise Beach, located on the west side of the lake, was one of those communities, and now offers all the amenities that modern life considers necessary, from recreational facilities (including many resorts and marinas) to medical and real estate offices, and everything in between. Some consider Sunrise Beach to be the single most beautiful community around the lake. Sourced with thanks from Www.odd.net/ozarks/sunrise/

The Lake of the Ozarks is a large man-made reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Extents of three smaller tributaries to the Osage, the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek, and Gravois Creek, are included in the impoundment. The lake has a surface area of 55,000 acres (223 km²), over 1,150 miles of shoreline (1,850 km), and the main channel of the Osage Arm stretches 92 miles (148 km) from end to end (148 km). The total drainage area is over 14,000 square miles (36,000 km²). The lake was created by the construction of the 2,543-foot (775 m) long (775 m) Bagnell Dam by Union Electric Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The principal engineering firm was Stone and Webster. Construction began August 6, 1929, and was completed in April 1931. The dam is operated and maintained by AmerenUE, the successor of Union Electric, under the authority of a permit issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. During construction the lake was referred to as Osage Reservoir or Lake Osage. The Missouri General Assembly officially named it Lake Benton after the former Senator Thomas Hart Benton. None of the names took as it was popularly referred to by its location in the Ozarks. The electric generating station, however, is still referred to by the utility company as the Osage Hydroelectric Plant. Sourced with thanks from En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_of_the_Ozarks