East TN has nine lakes! on its surface; they total over 3,500 miles of shoreline. The rivers and streams that feed into these lakes provide a lot of opportunities for outdoor activities: swimming, fishing, camping, paddling, kayaking, canoeing, rafting or just viewing nature. Visit us, you’ll be amazed of the beauty of East Tennessee.
Below, the name of these lakes, how they are formed and distance in miles from Old Town Knoxville (just as a common reference):
Fort Loudon Dam, on the Tennessee River forms Fort Loudon Lake, 17 miles from Old Town Knoxville;
Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River forms Tellico Lake; 30 miles
Watts Bar Dam, on the Tennessee River forms Watts Bar Lake, 58 miles;
Norris Dam, on the Clinch River, forms Norris Lake, 58 miles;
Cherokee Dam on the Holston River forms Cherokee Lake, 35 miles;
Melton Hill Dam on the Clinch River forms Melton Hill Lake, 20 miles;
Douglas Dam on the French Broad River forms Douglas Lake, 40 miles.
These lakes were built by The Tennessee Valley Authority – TVA - through the years. TVA operates what is called the TN River system.
It is important to mention that TVA was created in 1933 by President Franklin D. President Roosevelt to help USA recover from the Great Depression. The Tennessee Valley Authority was founded to help the Tennessee Valley, hit badly by the depression; it was tasked with improving the quality of life in the region very affected by unemployment, flooding, malaria and other problems.
TVA’s shares are owned by the federal government, however, it operates like a private corporation and receives no taxpayer funding.
In addition, we have two other lakes,
Chilhowee Lake (42 miles from Old Town Knoxville), upstream; it is bordered by the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest. Calderwood lake is upstream of Chilhowee and Tellico Lake is downstream.
Calderwood Lake (49 miles), it forms the border between Cherokee National Forest, Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A small portion of this lake is located in North Carolina,
You will enjoy having fun on the lakes, fun for all the family members.
In following posts, I’ll tell you more about Tellico Lake, Fort Loudon Lake and Watts Bar Lake.
For more information about Tennessee Valley Authority, please click on this link: https://www.tva.gov/About-TVA
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