Fort Loudon Lake
About the Lake
The uppermost dam on the Tennessee River, Fort Loudoun Lake is also the closest reservoir to Knoxville.
Boasting 14,600 acres and 360 miles of shoreline, Fort Loudoun is popular with fishing and boating enthusiasts alike.
Nestled against some of the finest residential neighborhoods in Knoxville, Fort Loudoun meanders along a seven-mile stretch of restaurants, shops, bicycle trails, and historical markers.
HISTORY
Fort Loudoun Reservoir takes its name from the 18th-century British fort built on a nearby site during the French and Indian War. The fort was named for John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun, commander of British forces in North America at the time.
Fort Loudoun is a popular recreation destination, known for bass fishing, boating and birdwatching. The tailwater area immediately below the dam is an excellent site for viewing a variety of waterbirds, including herons, cormorants, gulls, osprey and bald eagles.
The reservoir is connected by a short canal to Tellico Reservoir on the nearby Little Tennessee River. Water is diverted through the canal to Fort Loudoun for power production. The canal also offers commercial barges access to Tellico without the need for a lock. Barges passing through the Fort Loudoun lock carry about half a million tons of cargo a year.
Construction of Fort Loudoun Dam began in 1940 and was completed in 1943.
Fort Loudoun Dam is a hydroelectric facility. It has four generating units with a net dependable capacity of 162 megawatts. Net dependable capacity is the amount of power a dam can produce on an average day, minus the electricity used by the dam itself.
The dam is 122 feet high and stretches 4,190 feet across the Tennessee River.
Fort Loudoun Reservoir has 379 miles of shoreline and 14,600 acres of water surface. It has a flood-storage capacity of 111,000 acre-feet.
To maintain the water depth required for navigation, Fort Loudoun Reservoir is kept at a minimum winter elevation of 807 feet. The typical summer operating elevation is between 812 and 813 feet.
The 60- by 360-foot lock at Fort Loudoun raises and lowers river craft about 70 feet between the reservoir and Watts Bar Reservoir.
FACTS & FIGURES
Copyright © 2022 Polly Harrison Lakefront Living. Website designed by Smoky Mountain Consulting Group.