Watauga Lake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Watauga Lake | |
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| Location | Tennessee |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Watauga River, Elk River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 16.3 mi (26 km) |
| Max. depth | 265 ft (81 m) |
| Shore length1 | 104.9 mi (169 km) |
| Surface elevation | 1,959 ft (597 m) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Watauga Lake, located in rural northeastern Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This scenic reservoir was created at the end of 1948 with the completion of the Watauga Dam, which dammed the Watauga and Elk Rivers for the purposes of flood control and hydropower generation. Construction of the dam began in early 1942 but was curtailed later that year in favor of other wartime building efforts. Work resumed in 1946, and the dam was completed in 1948.
Watauga Lake is surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest. According to the TVA's Reservoir Operations Study (completed in 2004), the lake is 16.3 miles (26 km) long, with 104.9 miles (169 km) of shoreline. At full pool, the TVA's summertime water level target, its water surface covers 6,430 acres (26 km²). Its estimated depth is 265 feet (81 m) at the dam. At full pool, Watauga's elevation is the highest of all TVA lakes at 1,959 feet (597 m) above sea level.
Watauga Lake is regularly released by TVA schedule into Wilbur Reservoir (Wilbur Lake) and impounded by the TVA's Wilbur Dam. Water levels in 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 a flood-storage capacity of 152,829 acre feet (189,000,000 m³). Another much smaller nearby lake that is not part of the TVA system is the Ripshin Lake located 6 miles (10 km) SW of Roan Mountain.
More than half of Watauga Lake's shoreline lies within the Cherokee National Forest and cannot be developed. Recreational uses include boating, fishing, water-skiing, and camping. The release of impounded water from Watauga Dam and Wilbur Dam provides additional downstream riverine recreational opportunities such as whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Watauga River. There is no horsepower limit or speed limit for boats operating on the lake. Several fee-based public and private boat launch ramps provide access on the Hampton side of the reservoir.
The original town of Butler, Tennessee, sits at the bottom of Watauga Lake. "New" Butler was relocated to higher ground at the edge of Watauga Lake before the reservoir was dammed by the TVA. Other nearby Tennessee cities and communities include Hampton, Elizabethton, Roan Mountain, Mountain City, Johnson City, and Bristol. The lake covers parts of Johnson and Carter Counties.
