Lake in the Sky is an artificial lake in

Blount County, Tennessee Blount County is a county located in the East Tennessee Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County ...

, formed by damming Flat Creek. It lies in the center of Top of the World, an unincorporated community.

Location

Lake in the Sky is a small mountain lake located on the slopes of

Chilhowee Mountain Chilhowee Mountain is the name of two non-contiguous low ridges in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The northern section is at the outer edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, stretching between the Little Tennessee River and Chilhowee Dam to the west, a ...

Foothills Parkway The Foothills Parkway is a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The 72.1-mile (114 km) parkway will connect U.S. Route 129 (U.S. ...

passes just to the northwest, and the boundary of the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, w ...

lies just to the southeast. The lake lies in an area called The Flats, on a spur of Chilhowee Mountain. The surrounding country is rugged. Lake in the Sky is at an elevation of above sea level. The nearest major town is

Townsend, Tennessee Townsend is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The city was chartered in 1921 by persons who were involved with the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company. The population was 244 at the 2000 census and 448 at ...

Lake

The lake is part of the watershed of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

. It is near the head of Flat Creek, a tributary of Hesse Creek. The Flat Creek dam is at the north end of the lake. The dam was built in 1966, forming the lake. Flat Creek is non-navigable. Lake of the Sky is not operated for flood control purposes, but it is one of several dams in Blount County that may provide some protection against flooding. Specimens of the freshwater jellyfish ''

Craspedacusta sowerbii ''Craspedacusta sowerbii'' or peach blossom jellyfish is a species of freshwater hydrozoan jellyfish, or hydromedusa cnidarian. Hydromedusan jellyfish differ from scyphozoan jellyfish because they have a muscular, shelf-like structure called ...

'', an exotic species that is widespread in the United States, have been found in the lake. Downstream of Lake in the Sky, Flat Creek had elevated iron concentrations in fall and summer of 2003. This is a concern since the creek is a direct tributary to a stocked trout stream.

Settlement

Juan Pardo may have visited the future site of the lake during his 1567–68 expedition. He found a small reddish stone, which was examined by Andrés Suarez, a "melter of gold and silver". Suarez considered that it contained silver. The lake today is surrounded by a small community at named the Top of the World Estates. The Blount County Fire Protection District has its station #8 at 5714 Flats Road, on the east shore of the lake.

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake in the Sky, Tennessee Reservoirs in Tennessee Bodies of water of Blount County, Tennessee 1966 establishments in Tennessee Dams completed in 1966