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Watauga Lake

 

Facts & Figures

Construction of Watauga Dam began in 1942 and was completed in 1948.

Water levels in the Watauga Reservoir vary about 9 feet in normal years to provide for seasonal flood storage and for the augmentation of flows of water during drier seasons.

Watauga has two hydroelectric generating units

Watauga Dam is 318 feet high and extends 900 feet across the Watauga River.

Watauga has a flood-storage capacity of 152,829 acre-feet.

The generating capacity at Watauga is 57,600 kilowatts of electricity.

 

Watauga Lake Tennessee is surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and flanked by the Appalachian Mountains. Watauga Lake allows its visitors to enjoy the most stunning scenery of the Cherokee National Forest and the Appalachian Mountains of Northeastern Tennessee.

The word "Watauga" is a Native American term meaning "beautiful waters".

The Watauga Lake is located east of Elizabethton and southwest of Mountain City. The lake holds the distinction of being the highest reservoir (more than 1,900 feet above sea level) in the Tennessee River system and is the third cleanest lake in America. Construction of the dam began in early 1942, was stopped during World War 2. Work resumed in 1946, and the dam was completed in 1948.

The construction of the Watauga Lake Project incurred 10,274,559 man hours of labor. During the construction 1 man lost his life, and 48 suffered injuries. The project relocated 761 families and caused the removal of 1,281 gravesites. Some of the materials used to build the dam are 80400 cubic yards of concrete, and 65,400 cubic yards of grouting for the foundation.

Watauga Lake has 104 miles of shoreline, and 2 miles of island shoreline giving a total of 106 miles of shoreline. The maximum width of the lake is 313 acres with a surface area of 34,200 acres. Watauga Dam is 318 feet high, and 900 feet long, located on the Watauga River mile marker 36.7 in Carter County. The reservoir is 16.3 miles long

The reservoir is operated for many uses, including flood control, power generation, water quality, and aquatic ecology, and electricity. Watauga Lake has 2 enclosed water-cooled generators manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

Surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and flanked by the Appalachian Mountains, Watauga Lake is arguably the most scenic in the Tennessee River watershed. It offers access to the Appalachian Trail.

There thirteen species of game fish including rainbow and brown trout, walleye, and smallmouth and largemouth bass inhabit the waters of the lake. Below Watauga Dam is a wildlife observation area where visitors have a chance to view unique species of waterfowl.