Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake Watauga Dam |
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View from Watauga Dam across the reservoir towards Rat Branch Boat Landing | |||||||||
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Coordinates | 36 ° 19 ′ 58 ″ N , 82 ° 0 ′ 9 ″ W | ||||||||
Data on the structure | |||||||||
Construction time: | 1942-1948 | ||||||||
Height of the barrier structure : | 97 m | ||||||||
Crown length: | 270 m | ||||||||
Power plant output: | 57.6 MW | ||||||||
Operator: | Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) | ||||||||
Data on the reservoir | |||||||||
Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 597 m | ||||||||
Water surface | 26 km² | ||||||||
Reservoir length | 97 km | ||||||||
Storage space | 188 512 000 m³ | ||||||||
Design flood : | 2 070 m³ / s | ||||||||
Watauga Dam memorial stone |
The Watauga Lake is a reservoir northeast of Elizabethton in North East Tennessee .
It was created when the Watauga River was dammed by the Watauga Dam operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) . The Cherokee National Forest surrounds Watauga Lake and the Wilbur Lake immediately downstream .
history
Construction of the Watauga Dam began in early 1942, but was interrupted because of World War II. From 1946 to the end of 1948, the work was finally completed and the two rivers Watauga River and Elk River dammed for the purpose of flood protection and power generation . The village of Butler was flooded.
The Watauga Lake covers parts of Johnson County and Carter County .
Data
According to the 2004 TVA River and Reservoir Operations Study , the reservoir has a length of 26 km and a shoreline of 169 km. The water area is 26 km². At 597 m, Watauga Lake is the highest reservoir of all TVA lakes.
The water level of the reservoir shows an annual fluctuation of 2.7 m. In the dry summer months, additional water is drained into the downstream river system. The retention volume of the dam is 188,512,000 m³.
Freetime activities
Over half of the Watauga Lake shoreline is part of the Cherokee National Forest. Recreational activities on the lake include boating, water skiing, and camping. The additional runoff provided in the downstream waters enables white water rafting, fishing and kayaking there even in the summer months.
Web links
- TVA - Watauga Reservoir
- Watauga Lake, Tennessee
- Watauga Lake map and trout stocking program information (PDF; 761 kB)
- Watauga Lake in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey