Reservoir in Tennessee, United States
Watts Bar Lake
is a
reservoir
on the
Tennessee River
created by
Watts Bar Dam
as part of the
Tennessee Valley Authority
system.
Geography
[
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]
Located in the U.S. state of
Tennessee
about midway between the cities of
Chattanooga
and
Knoxville
, the lake begins as the Tennessee River below
Fort Loudoun Dam
(
35°47′30″N
84°14′34″W
/
35.79167°N 84.24278°W
/
35.79167; -84.24278
(
Fort Loudoun Dam
)
) in
Lenoir City, Tennessee
and stretches 72.4 miles (116.5 km) to
Watts Bar Dam
(
35°37′15″N
84°46′55″W
/
35.62083°N 84.78194°W
/
35.62083; -84.78194
(
Watts Bar Dam
)
), near
Spring City, Tennessee
. The
Clinch River
connects to the main channel of the lake at mile 568 (
35°51′50″N
84°31′50″W
/
35.86389°N 84.53056°W
/
35.86389; -84.53056
(
Clinch River mouth
)
) near Southwest Point (site of
Andrew Jackson
and
John Sevier
's 1803 confrontation
[1]
) in
Kingston, Tennessee
. The widening of the Clinch by the lake makes that river navigable all the way up to
Melton Hill Dam
(
35°53′5″N
84°18′0″W
/
35.88472°N 84.30000°W
/
35.88472; -84.30000
(
Melton Hill Dam
)
), which is equipped with a navigation lock allowing navigation upstream through
Oak Ridge
and
Clinton
. The partially navigable
Emory River
connects with the Clinch near the TVA's
Kingston Steam Plant
just upriver from the meeting with the Tennessee. Including the Clinch and Emory arms, Watts Bar has 722 miles (1,160 km) of shoreline and over 39,000 acres (160 km
2
) of water surface. Minor tributaries include
Poplar Creek
, Caney Creek, and White's Creek. The lake contains several large islands, most notably Thief Neck Island, Long Island, and Sand Island.
History
[
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]
Watts Bar Lake was affected by the 2008
Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill
.
Recreation
[
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]
Watts Bar's sport fishing ratings for
crappie
,
black crappie
,
largemouth bass
, and
spotted bass
are at or near the top in the TVA system.
[2]
(The state of Tennessee advises against eating fish caught in certain areas of the lake due to
PCB
contamination.)
[3]
The area also provides many opportunities for
birdwatching
, with an extremely large population of
great blue herons
, over 120 nesting pairs of
osprey
, and a few
bald eagles
living on or near the lake.
[4]
Several parks and camps are located on the lake, including the John Knox Center
[5]
and the
Boy Scout
facility
Camp Buck Toms
.
[6]
Notes
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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