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Fontana Dam is the 4th highest Dam in the country and
the highest in the eastern United States. Construction
started on January 1, 1942. The gates were closed on
November 7, 1942 and Fontana Reservoir was completely
filled on November 1944. The completed dam set
construction records. A railroad had to be built to
transport supplies. The initial cost of the project was
$70,420,688.
The construction of the Fontana Project incurred
34,353,374 man hours of labor. During the construction
14 men lost their lives, and 472 suffered injuries. The
project relocated 1,311 families and caused the removal
of 1,047 gravesites. Some of the materials used to build
the dam are 2,813,000 cubic yards of concrete, and
97,500 bags of grouting for the foundation.
Annual rainfall regularly reaches 75 to 80 inches a year
- at normal maximum pool the reservoir holds 10,640 acre
feet of water. Fontana has three hydroelectric
generators with the first electricity generated on
January 20, 1945.
Fontana Lake has 240 miles of shoreline, and 8 miles of
island shoreline giving a total of 248 miles of
shoreline. The watershed area for Fontana Lake covers
1,571 square miles. Fontana Dam is 480 feet high, and
2,365 feet long and is located on the Little Tennessee
River at mile marker 61.0 in Swain and Graham County,
North Carolina. The reservoir is 129 miles long. The
Appalachian Trail crosses Fontana Dam and other park
trails are accessible by boat. In this very remote part
of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, you can find
old family cemeteries from the 19th century, the remains
of old homesteads and moonshine stills, and great
trails.
The Incline Tram, used to transport visitors from the
Visitors Center to the Powerhouse is unique to the TVA
system.
The Appalachian Trail which extends over 2000 miles from
Georgia to Maine, crosses the top of Fontana Dam. The
nearby trail shelter is fondly known as the "Fontana
Hilton" because of the hot showers.
Lake Fontana is a great place for fishing, boating,
swimming, and other water sports. Nestled between East
Tennessee ridges, Fontana Lake points the way to
Cumberland Gap and the historic wilderness trail marked
by Daniel Boone. With its clear deep water, it produces
excellent catches of record size musky, walleye, and
bass, as well as the usual species found in other area
lakes.
The counties surrounding Fontana Lake are Swain and
Graham in North Carolina.
Please Help Keep Lake Fontana Clean !
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