Chickamauga Lake is a

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 ...

in the United States along 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 ...

created when the

Chickamauga Dam The Chickamauga Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiativ ...

, as part 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 ...

, was completed in 1940. The lake stretches from

Watts Bar Dam Watts Bar Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Meigs and Rhea counties in Tennessee, United States. The dam is one of nine dams on the main Tennessee River channel operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam i ...

at mile 529.9 (853 km) to Chickamauga Dam at mile 471.0 (758 km) making the lake 58.9 miles (94.8 km) long. It borders Rhea County, Meigs County, and Hamilton County with 810 miles (1,303 km) of shoreline and two bridges crossing it at State Highway 60 and Highway 30. The lake is commonly used for recreational and outdoor activities, especially at the southern end, due to the high population density surrounding it. It was named after the

Chickamauga Cherokee The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...

who used to live in the area. The

Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in the northern area of the State of Georgia. It flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee Riv ...

empties into Chickamauga Lake at

Hiwassee Island Hiwassee Island, also known as Jollys Island and Benham Island, is located in Meigs County, Tennessee, at the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers. It is about northeast of Chattanooga. The island was the second largest land mass on th ...

, just north of the Highway 60 bridge at mile 500 (804.5 km). Chickamauga Lake is immediately downstream from Watts Bar Lake and immediately upstream from

Nickajack Lake Nickajack Lake is the reservoir created by Nickajack Dam as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The lake stretches from Nickajack Dam to Chickamauga Dam, passing through the city of Chattanooga. The Tennessee River Gorge, commonly referred ...

. Full pool for Chickamauga Lake is above sea level; the current lake level can be checke
here
The normal operating zone is between and through the end of March, rising steadily to a summer range of by the middle of May. Then, full pool is maintained through the end of August, at which time the level drops steadily back down to by the end of November. Actual lake levels vary due to weather conditions and power needs. The lake is a popular venue for fishing and a variety of gamefish can be caught there including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and catfish. As a result, the venue hosts popular fishing tournaments.

References

* * * * Protected areas of Bradley County, Tennessee Protected areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee Protected areas of McMinn County, Tennessee Protected areas of Meigs County, Tennessee Reservoirs in Tennessee Protected areas of Rhea County, Tennessee Tennessee River Tennessee Valley Authority Geography of Chattanooga, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Chattanooga, Tennessee Bodies of water of Bradley County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Hamilton County, Tennessee Bodies of water of McMinn County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Meigs County, Tennessee {{Tennessee-protected-area-stub

See also

References