Douglas Lake

Last updated
Douglas Lake
Douglas Lake - Sevier County, Tennessee.jpg
Douglas Lake
USA Tennessee relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Douglas Lake
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Douglas Lake
Location Jefferson / Cocke / Sevier / Hamblen counties, State of Tennessee
Coordinates 35°57′40″N83°32′20″W / 35.96111°N 83.53889°W / 35.96111; -83.53889
Type Reservoir
Primary inflows French Broad River
Primary outflows French Broad River
Basin  countriesUnited States
Max. length60 mi (97 km)
Max. width3,527  ft (1,075  m)
Surface area44.41 sq mi (115.0 km2) [1]
Water volume1,081,880  acre⋅ft (1.33448 km3) [1]
Shore length1513 mi (826 km) [1]
Surface elevation876 ft (267 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Douglas Lake, also called Douglas Reservoir, is a reservoir created by an impoundment of the French Broad River in Eastern Tennessee. This lake is located only a few miles from the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, and also the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Douglas Dam was built by the Tennessee Valley Authority at a record pace from February 2, 1942, through February 19, 1943, to provide hydroelectric power and to control flooding downstream in the Tennessee River Valley. [1] [2] Douglas Dam is located just over 32 miles (51 km) upstream from the French Broad River's confluence with the Holston River in Knoxville, to form the Tennessee River. The Douglas Lake reservoir inundates about a 40-mile (64 km) stretch of the French Broad River between the Douglas Dam and the Irish Bottoms area near Newport. Small portions of the Nolichucky and Pigeon rivers are also impounded by the lake. During the winter months, the Tennessee Valley Authority lowers the water level to help control flooding, meet power demands, and many other objectives. This is important to know in advance to make plans to stay near the lake.

The resort town of Baneberry is located on the northern shores of the lake in Jefferson County. Dandridge, the county seat of Jefferson County, is located mostly on the northern shores with a small portion on the southern. Parts of downtown Dandridge are located below the lake's operating levels, and are protected by an earthen dam.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dandridge, Tennessee</span> County seat of Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States

Dandridge is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Tennessee. It had a population of 3,341 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Jefferson, Hamblen, and Grainger counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Tennessee River</span> River in the United States of America

The Little Tennessee River is a 135-mile (217 km) tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national forests— Chattahoochee, Nantahala, and Cherokee— and provides the southwestern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Broad River</span> River in North Carolina and Tennessee, United States

The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows 218 miles (351 km) from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville forms the beginning of the Tennessee River. The river flows through the counties of Transylvania, Buncombe, Henderson, and Madison in North Carolina, and Cocke, Jefferson, Sevier, and Knox in Tennessee. It drains large portions of the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holston River</span> River in Tennessee, United States

The Holston River is a 136-mile (219 km) river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks, it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and northwestern North Carolina. The Holston's confluence with the French Broad River at Knoxville marks the beginning of the Tennessee River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nolichucky River</span> River in the Eastern United States

The Nolichucky River is a 115-mile (185 km) river that flows through western North Carolina and East Tennessee in the southeastern United States. Traversing the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the river's watershed includes some of the highest mountains in the Appalachians, including Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, the highest point in the eastern United States. The river is a tributary of the French Broad River and is impounded by Nolichucky Dam near Greeneville, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon River (Tennessee–North Carolina)</span> U.S. river

The Pigeon River of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina, is impounded by Walters Dam, enters Tennessee, and flows into the French Broad River, just past Newport, Tennessee. The river traverses the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest, and drains much of the northeastern Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norris Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The dam was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic development to the region and control the rampant flooding that had long plagued the Tennessee Valley. The dam was named in honor of Nebraska Senator George Norris (1861–1944), a longtime supporter of government-owned utilities in general, and supporter of TVA in particular. The infrastructure project was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Loudoun Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Fort Loudoun Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Loudon County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in the early 1940s as part of a unified plan to provide electricity and flood control in the Tennessee Valley and create a continuous 652-mile (1,049 km) navigable river channel from Knoxville, Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky. It is the uppermost of nine TVA dams on the Tennessee River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guntersville Dam</span> Dam in Alabama, United States

Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Marshall County, in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel on the entire length of the river and bring flood control and economic development to the region. The dam impounds the Guntersville Lake of 67,900 acres (27,500 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wheeler Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Dam</span> Dam in Kentucky, United States

Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s and early 1940s to improve navigation on the lower part of the river and reduce flooding on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It was a major project initiated during the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, to invest in infrastructure to benefit the country. The dam impounds the Kentucky Lake of 160,000 acres (65,000 ha), which is the largest of TVA's reservoirs and the largest artificial lake by area in the Eastern United States. It was designated as an National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1996 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to meet emergency energy demands at the height of World War II. Douglas Dam is a straight reinforced concrete gravity-type dam 1705 feet long and 202 feet high, impounding the 28,420-acre (11,500 ha) Douglas Lake. The dam was named for Douglas Bluff, a cliff overlooking the dam site prior to construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norris Dam State Park</span> United States historic place

Norris Dam State Park is a state park in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is situated along the shores of Norris Lake, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936. The park consists of 4,038 acres (16.34 km2) managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The park also administers the Lenoir Museum Complex, which interprets the area's aboriginal, pioneer, and early 20th-century history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Ridge State Park</span> State park in Tennessee, United States

Big Ridge State Park is a state park in Union County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of 3,687 acres (14.92 km2) on the southern shore of the Norris Reservoir, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936. Much of the park's recreational focus is on Big Ridge Lake, a 45-acre (0.18 km2) sub-impoundment of Norris near the center of the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherokee Lake</span> Artificial reservoir in East Tennessee, United States

Cherokee Lake, also known as Cherokee Reservoir, is an artificial reservoir in the U.S. state of Tennessee formed by the impoundment of the Holston River behind Cherokee Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watauga Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Watauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed. At 318 feet (97 m), Watauga is the second-highest dam in the TVA river and reservoir system, and at the time of its completion was one of the highest earth-and-rock dams in the United States. The dam impounds the TVA Watauga Reservoir of 6,430 acres (2,600 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wilbur Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherokee Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Cherokee Dam is a hydroelectric dam located on the Holston River in Grainger County and Jefferson County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to help meet urgent demands for energy at the outbreak of World War II. Cherokee Dam is 175 feet (53 m) high and impounds the 28,780-acre (11,650 ha) Cherokee Lake. It has a generating capacity of 136 megawatts. The dam was named for the Cherokee, a Native American tribe that controlled much of East Tennessee when the first European settlers arrived in the mid-18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Holston Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

South Holston Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the South Fork Holston River in Sullivan County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the uppermost of three dams on the South Fork Holston owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed. On October 21, 1950 the valve gate closed and water began backing up to create South Holston Reservoir. Work began on the dam in December 1941, but in November 1942, the War Production Board requested that the operation be suspended because of a shortage of critical materials. Work did not resume until July 1, 1947. The dam now impounds the South Holston Lake of 7,550 acres (3,060 ha), which extends northeastward across the Tennessee-Virginia state line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boone Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Boone Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the South Fork Holston River on the border between Sullivan County and Washington County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of three dams on the South Fork Holston owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1950s as part of greater efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed. The dam impounds the 4,500-acre (1,800 ha) Boone Lake, and its tailwaters are part of Fort Patrick Henry Lake. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Shady Grove is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "TVA: Douglas Reservoir". Tennessee Valley Authority . Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  2. "About Douglas Lake/555 Miles of Shoreline". Archived from the original on 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2008-06-16.