Lake Nottely (also called Nottely Reservoir) is one of many

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s of the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

. It is located entirely in

Union County, Georgia Union County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,632. The county seat is Blairsville. History Union County was originally a core part of the homeland o ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and within the Chatahoochee-Oconee National Forests. Formed in 1942 by the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

ming of the

Nottely River The Nottely River is a river in the United States. The river originates in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia. The river flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map access ...

, Nottely Reservoir extends 20 miles (30 km) upstream to the town of Blairsville. Construction of Nottely Dam began in 1941 and was completed in 1942. The dam is 184 feet (56 m) high and stretches 2,300 feet (701 m) across the Nottely River. Lake Nottely is approximately long and wide as well as an average depth of , a max depth of at the dam, and has a

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

-storage capacity of . Its primary purpose was for

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

in the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

watershed, but in the 1950s a single 15 megawatt generator was installed for power generation. Approximately 70% of the shoreline is under the jurisdiction of the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

and undeveloped. In recent years, many new homes and properties have contributed to Lake Nottely's growing importance for recreation. Its proximity to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

(2 hours) is resulting in increased use of this reservoir.

See also