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Richard B. Russell Lake | |
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Location | Georgia / South Carolina |
Coordinates | 34°05′30″N82°37′48″W / 34.091762°N 82.629976°W Coordinates: 34°05′30″N82°37′48″W / 34.091762°N 82.629976°W |
Type | reservoir |
Primary inflows | Savannah River |
Primary outflows | Savannah River |
Basin countries | United States |
Surface area | 26,650 acres (108 km2) |
Max. depth | 167 ft (51 m) |
Shore length1 | 540 mi (870 km) |
Surface elevation | 475 ft (145 m) |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Richard B. Russell Lake (known to locals as simply "Lake Russell") is a reservoir created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by construction of Richard B. Russell Dam on the Savannah River bordering Elbert County, Georgia and Abbeville and Anderson counties in South Carolina. The lake impounds primarily the Savannah River but also includes Beaverdam Creek on the Georgia side and Rocky River on the South Carolina side. Filling of the lake began in October 1983, and was completed in December 1984 for a full pool elevation of 475 feet (145 m). Lake levels do not change much because the lake is designed to operate within 5 feet (1.5 m) of full pool compared to Hartwell and Thurmond, whose 35 feet (11 m) and 18 feet (5.5 m) of conservation storage respectively causes their levels to change more dramatically. This causes the lake to always look full. [1]
Named for U.S. Senator Richard Brevard Russell, Jr., [2] the lake consists of 26,650 acres (108 km2) of water and 540 miles (870 km) of shoreline. Unlike its neighbors Lake Hartwell to the north and Lake Strom Thurmond to the south, federal regulations prohibit private use of the public lands surrounding Lake Russell.
The area flooded by the lake covered several areas of archaeological significance. There was a significant effort to explore and excavate these sites before filling the lake. Sites include Millwood Plantation, Fort Independence and a Native American village and mound.
The lake also covered the historic Georgia-Carolina Memorial Bridge which was not demolished but remains intact beneath the lake. [3]
Since it was constructed after 1974, the Corps of Engineers prohibits exclusive private use of the lake's shoreline. As a result, the shoreline of the lake is almost completely undeveloped with the exception of some state parks and day-use areas. The Corps owns a 300-foot (91 m) buffer zone all the way around the 540 miles (870 km) of shoreline to mitigate the loss of habitat due to the creation of the lake. [4] The natural shoreline creates a strikingly different feel and look to the lake when compared to Thurmond and Hartwell which have highly developed shorelines.
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border. The Savannah River drainage basin extends into the southeastern side of the Appalachian Mountains just inside North Carolina, bounded by the Eastern Continental Divide. The river is around 301 miles (484 km) long. The Savannah was formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo River and the Seneca River. Today this confluence is submerged beneath Lake Hartwell. The Tallulah Gorge is located on the Tallulah River, a tributary of the Tugaloo River that forms the northwest branch of the Savannah River.
Bull Shoals Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. It has hundreds of miles of lake arms and coves, and common activities include boating, water sports, swimming, and fishing. Nineteen developed parks around the shoreline provide campgrounds, boat launches, swim areas, and marinas.
Lake Strom Thurmond, officially designated J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir at the federal level, and Clarks Hill Lake by the state of Georgia, is a reservoir at the border between Georgia and South Carolina in the Savannah River Basin.
The Chattooga River is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River.
Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas in the United States. Designed, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam, which was constructed from 1954 to 1958 on the White River.
Lake Lanier is a reservoir in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is also fed by the waters of the Chestatee River. The lake encompasses 38,000 acres (150 km2) or 59 square miles (150 km2) of water, and 692 miles (1,114 km) of shoreline at normal level, a "full pool" of 1,071 feet (326 m) above mean sea level and the exact shoreline varies by resolution according to the coastline paradox. Named for Confederate Army poet Sidney Lanier, it was built and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control and water supplies. Its construction destroyed more than 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of farmland and displaced more than 250 families, 15 businesses, and relocated 20 cemeteries along with their corpses in the process.
Strom may refer to:
Hartwell Dam is a concrete and embankment dam located on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Lake Hartwell. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1955 and 1962 for the purposes of flood control, hydropower and navigation. The concrete and earthen structure spans 15,840 feet (4,828 m). The concrete section is 1,900 feet (579 m) long and rises 204 feet (62 m) above the riverbed at its apex. The Hartwell Dam currently produces 468 million KWh of electricity annually, has prevented over $40 million in flood damage since completion and also provides recreation, water quality, water supply, along with fish and wildlife management.
Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing parts of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca rivers. Lake Hartwell is one of the southeast's largest and most popular recreation lakes. The lake is created by construction of the Hartwell Dam, completed in 1962 and located on the Savannah River seven miles (11 km) below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. Extending 49 miles (79 km) up the Tugaloo and 45 miles (72 km) up the Seneca at normal pool elevation, the lake comprises nearly 56,000 acres (230 km²) of water with a shoreline of 962 miles (1,548 km). The entire Hartwell "Project" contains 76,450 acres (309 km²) of land and water. I-85 bisects Hartwell Lake and makes the area easily accessible to visitors.
Lake Tugalo is a 597-acre (2.42 km2) reservoir with 18 miles (29 km) of shoreline located in the northeastern Georgia in Habersham and Rabun counties, but also lies partially in Oconee County, South Carolina. It is the fifth lake in a six-lake series created by hydroelectric dams operated by Georgia Power that follows the original course of the Tallulah River. The series starts upstream on the Tallulah River with Lake Burton followed by Lake Seed, Lake Rabun, Lake Tallulah Falls and Lake Tugalo, ending with Lake Yonah. The western arm of Lake Tugalo is filled by the Tallulah River and the eastern arm is filled by the Chattooga River. Georgia Power considers the lake full at a surface elevation of 891.5 feet (271.7 m).
Joseph (Joe) Ralston Caldwell was an American archaeologist was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He conducted major excavations in the Savannah, Georgia area in the late 1930s at the Irene site as part of Depression era archaeology program. He also worked at other archaeology sites in Georgia. During his career he was a professor in the United States and Iran.
J. Strom Thurmond Dam, also known in Georgia as Clarks Hill Dam, is a concrete-gravity and embankment dam located 22 miles (35 km) north of Augusta, Georgia on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Lake Strom Thurmond. U.S. Route 221 cross it. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1946 and 1954 for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectricity and downstream navigation. The concrete structure of the dam spans 1,096 feet (334 m) and rises 204 feet (62 m) above the riverbed, housing a power plant with an installed 380 MW capacity. The Dam has prevented over $185,000 in estimated flood damage annually and also provides recreation, water quality, water supply, along with fish and wildlife management.
Richard B. Russell Dam is a concrete-gravity and embankment dam located on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Richard B. Russell Lake. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1974 and 1985 for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectricity, recreation, additional stream flow regulation, water supply, and fish and wildlife management. The concrete structure of the dam spans 1,904 feet (580 m) and rises 210 feet (64 m) above the riverbed, housing a hydro-power plant with an installed 600 megawatts (800,000 hp) capacity. The Richard B. Russell Dam is the final large dam completed by the U.S. Army Corps in the Savannah River Basin and lies 30 miles downstream from the Hartwell Dam (1962) and 37 miles (60 km) upstream from the J. Strom Thurmond Dam (1954).
Atwood Lake is a reservoir located in Tuscarawas and Carroll counties in east central Ohio. The lake is formed by Atwood Dam 40°31′36″N81°17′5″W across Indian Fork, a tributary of Conotton Creek. The lake is named for the community of Atwood 40°31′36″N81°17′5″W which was purchased, demolished and inundated. Evidence of an old rail station and roadbed can also be seen near Dellroy when the lake level is drawn down for winter. In addition to the Indian Fork the lake also has coves to the north up Elliott Run, Willow Run and two unnamed streams along Bark Road and Ohio State Route 542. The dam was completed in September 1936 at a cost of $1,403,900 by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. The operation of the lake and dam, along with the property immediately surrounding the dam site, was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, after the approval of the Flood Control Act of 1939 by Congress. The MWCD continues to be responsible for the management of much of the reservoir areas behind the dam, serving as a partner to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood reduction. In addition to operating a number of recreation facilities, the MWCD cooperates with the Ohio Division of Wildlife for fishing and hunting management.
New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam is a dam with inactive lock at the site of the dead town of New Savannah, Georgia on the Savannah River south of Augusta, Georgia.
The Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake are located on the upper portion of the Savannah River drainage and its tributaries in Georgia and South Carolina. Many reservoirs were constructed in the southeast during the twentieth century, and archaeological investigations were conducted in many of them. The Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake are named after former U.S. Senator Richard Brevard Russell, Jr. From 1969 to 1985, numerous cultural resource investigations were undertaken in the reservoir also known as the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake and the Richard B. Russell Multiple Resource Area. The work in the reservoir documented human occupation from the Paleoindian period all the way through to Historic Period.
West Point Lake is a man-made reservoir located mostly in west-central Georgia on the Chattahoochee River and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Chattahoochee river flows in from the north, before flowing through the West Point Dam, which impounds the lake, and continuing to Columbus, Georgia. Of the four major USACE lakes in the ACF River Basin, West Point Lake is the smallest by area containing 25,864 acres (10,467 ha) of water, and has the second shortest shoreline at 604 mi (972 km). The purposes of the reservoir are to provide flood control, hydroelectric power, and water storage to aid the navigation of the lower Chattahoochee.