Cheoah River

The Cheoah Dam is a hydroelectric complex located in Graham and Swain counties, North Carolina, on the Little Tennessee River between river miles 51 and 52. The Cheoah Development consists of a dam and powerhouse, the first of several constructed by the Tallassee Power Company (now Tapoco), a subsidiary of Aluminum Company of America (now Alcoa), in order to generate electricity to smelt aluminum in Alcoa, Tennessee. The Cheoah project began in 1916 as a construction camp at the Narrows, where the Little Tennessee River flowed through a narrow gorge, and it was completed in 1919. Cheoah Dam created the long, narrow Cheoah Reservoir, which covers approximately 644 acres (261 ha) of the normal full pool area and a drainage area of 1,608 square miles (4,160 km2). The elevation of Cheoah Reservoir is 1,276.8 feet (389.2 m) (USGS). A scenic highway runs the length of the reservoir.The water inflow for Cheoah, like that of Calderwood and Chilhowee, is primarily dependent on releases from TVA's Fontana Dam, the primary flow control facility for the lower Little Tennessee River. Tapoco operated the Cheoah Development until 2012, when it was sold to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, forming Brookfield Smoky Mountain Hydropower.When completed in 1919, the 225-foot (69 m) dam was the world's highest overflow dam. The turbines were the largest in the world, and the 150,000-volt transmission line had the highest voltage and the longest span for a transmission line—5,010 feet (1,530 m) across the river below Cheoah Dam. The dam and associated structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.The dam was used as a filming location for the 1993 movie The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford.

Tapoco is an unincorporated community in Graham County, North Carolina, United States. Tapoco is located on U.S. Route 129 near the Little Tennessee River, 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Robbinsville. Named for the acronym of the former Tallassee Power Company, Tapoco had a post office until it closed on October 26, 1995.

The Snowbird Mountain Lodge is an historic hotel property in rural Graham County, North Carolina. It is located on the Cherohala Skyway, about 11 miles (18 km) west of Robbinsville. The main lodge was designed by Asheville architect Ronald Greene, and was built in 1940–1941 for Arthur and Edwin Wolfe; it was one of the last of a series of architecturally significant mountain lodges built in the region in the first half of the 20th century. The property features commanding views of the surrounding Nantahala National Forest and Lake Santeetlah.The lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

The Tapoco Lodge Historic District encompasses a historic mountain lodge and resort in Robbinsville, North Carolina. The lodge was developed in the 1930s by Tapoco, formerly the Tallassee Power Company, which developed hydroelectric power projects in the area. The lodge and associated cabins were built to provide housing for Tapoco employees working in the area. The main lodge, a 2-1/2 story Colonial Revival structure, was built in 1930, and the facilities were gradually enlarged during the next decade to include a number of guest cabins. Around 1950 a theater, guard house, and other utility buildings were added to the complex. Gazebos and tennis courts were added in the late 1990s.The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Deals Gap (el. 1,988 ft (606 m)) is a mountain pass along the North Carolina–Tennessee state line, bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and near the Little Tennessee River. At 0.7 miles (1.1 km) south of the gap is the unincorporated community that shares the same name, located at the intersection of US 129 and NC 28. The area is popular with sports car and motorcycle enthusiasts, who cross the gap into Tennessee to drive along the "Tail of the Dragon", famous for its 318 curves in 11 miles (18 km).

Calderwood Dam is a hydroelectric dam located along the Little Tennessee River in Blount and Monroe counties, in the U. S. state of Tennessee. Completed in 1930, the dam is owned and maintained by Tapoco, a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), although the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) controls the dam's reservoir levels from Fontana Dam further upstream. Calderwood Dam is named for Alcoa engineer Isaac Glidden Calderwood (1871–1941), who supervised much of the company's early Little Tennessee River operations.Calderwood Dam was one of four dams—along with Cheoah, Santeetlah, and Chilhowee—built in the Little Tennessee Valley by Alcoa in the 20th century to provide electricity to its aluminum smelting operations in Blount County. The dam was one of the last to be completed in the Tennessee River watershed before TVA took control of the watershed in 1933. Alcoa developed the community of Calderwood, Tennessee, just downstream from the dam to house construction and maintenance crews for its Little Tennessee Valley operations. In 1989, Calderwood Dam was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The listing was expanded in 1990 and again in 2004 to include most of the dam's substructures.

Calderwood was a community once located along the Little Tennessee River in Blount County, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1912 as a base for the Aluminum Company of America's Little Tennessee Valley hydroelectric development operations, the community continued to house construction personnel and dam maintenance personnel for nearby Calderwood Dam until the 1960s. Although the community's houses were razed after its abandonment, three buildings located in the community— the Calderwood Dam service building, the Calderwood School, and a Quonset hut used as a theater— were included in a supplementary listing for Calderwood Dam on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.Alcoa began developing the Little Tennessee Valley in 1909 to provide the ample amounts of electricity necessary to power its planned aluminum smelting operations in Blount County. Under the leadership of Alcoa engineer Isaac Glidden Calderwood (1871–1941), three dams— Cheoah (1919), Santeetlah (1928), and Calderwood (1930)— were completed in a remote section of the valley along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. The community of Calderwood was initially known as "Alcoa," but was renamed in I. G. Calderwood's honor after the company reapplied the name "Alcoa" to its main company town in northern Blount County.

Santeetlah Dam is a hydroelectric development on the Cheoah River (river mile 9) in Graham County, North Carolina. The dam together with a pipeline/tunnel facility, and a powerhouse form the Santeetlah Development. The Santeetlah powerhouse is located on the left bank of the Cheoah Reservoir portion of the Little Tennessee River five miles (8 km) upstream of the Cheoah Dam. The Santeetlah Project, which began in 1925, was completed in 1928 by the Tallassee Power Company (now Tapoco). The Santeetlah Dam forms the Santeetlah Reservoir, which covers approximately 2,881 acres (1,166 ha), normal full pool area, with a drainage area of 176 square miles (460 km2) and stretches to Robbinsville, North Carolina. The elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir is 1,940.9 feet (591.6 m) according to the USGS. The dam is 212 feet (65 m) high and 1,054 feet (321 m) long, and was one of the first structures built using vibratory damping to control concrete quality. It has two spillways with a capacity of 50,000 cfs. It is topped by concrete gatehouse which controls water flows into the five mile tunnel running to the Little Tennessee. The project's major elements were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The Santeetlah and Cheoah developments have practically flooded the Cheoah River. Water from Santeetlah is piped to the Rhymer's Ferry generating facility on Cheoah Lake, with any water flowing below the dam coming from downstream tributaries or reservoir overflow. The facility is owned and operated by Tapoco. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) maintains limited control over lake levels, as the piped output from Lake Santeetlah flows into Topoco's Santeethlah Power House at Rhymer's Ferry upstream from Cheoah Dam and just below Fontana Dam. Overflow travels to the Cheoah River just below the Cheoah Dam.

Gregory Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet (1,508 meters) above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination. Another feature that attracts many visitors are the flame azaleas that bloom over the bald every summer. The azaleas reach peak bloom around mid-to-late June. Gregory Bald is located along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, between Blount County and Swain County. It rises approximately 3,000 feet above its northern base in Cades Cove, and approximately 3,300 feet above its southern base at Fontana Lake. The mountain is located entirely within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Gregory Bald is a type of mountain known as a grassy bald. Unlike most summits in the Appalachian Mountains, which are heavily forested or culminate in jagged peaks, grassy balds are covered by a thick layer of wild grass. Trees and other foliage are sparse. How and why a summit develops into a grassy bald is unknown. While there is evidence that Gregory Bald was a natural grassy bald, the National Park Service must currently work to prevent the summit from becoming forested.

Lake Santeetlah is a town in Graham County, North Carolina, United States, 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Robbinsville on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Santeetlah—which in turn is largely surrounded by Nantahala National Forest. The town has more than two hundred residences, many of them second homes owned by permanent residents of Florida and Georgia. The town was organized in 1989 as "Santeetlah"; in 1999, it changed its name to "Lake Santeetlah". The full-time population was 67 at the 2000 census and dropped to 45 in 2010.

Fontana Dam (also known as Fontana Village) is a town in Graham County, North Carolina, United States. Fontana Dam is located on North Carolina Highway 28 near the Fontana Dam and the Little Tennessee River. The town incorporated in 2011 and has a full-time population of 33.

Abrams Creek is a creek in Blount County, Tennessee. Its headwaters are in Cades Cove, and it is a tributary of the Little Tennessee River. It is named after the Chilhowee Cherokee chief Old Abraham ("Abram"). Visitors swim and fish in the creek. The creek was deliberately poisoned in 1957 to kill fish in potential competition with rainbow trout; many fish species were extirpated from the river and have never recovered.