place

Hiwassee Dam

1940 establishments in North CarolinaBuildings and structures in Cherokee County, North CarolinaDams completed in 1940Dams in North CarolinaDams on the Hiwassee River
Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in North CarolinaEnergy infrastructure completed in 1940Historic districts in North CarolinaHydroelectric power plants in North CarolinaNational Register of Historic Places in Cherokee County, North CarolinaPumped-storage hydroelectric power stationsTennessee Valley Authority damsUse American English from January 2025Use mdy dates from February 2025
Hiwassee Dam
Hiwassee Dam

Hiwassee Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is one of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s to bring flood control and electricity to the region. The dam impounds the Hiwassee Lake of 6,000 acres (2,400 ha), and its tailwaters are part of Apalachia Reservoir. At 307 feet (94 m), Hiwassee Dam is the highest overspill dam east of the Mississippi River and is second only to Grand Coulee dam in the nation. At the time it was completed, it was the highest overspill dam in the world. Hiwassee Dam is the third highest dam in the TVA system, behind only Fontana and Watauga. The dam and associated infrastructure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Hiwassee Dam is classified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a high-hazard dam, meaning a dam failure may pose a deadly threat to nearby residents. The dam's condition is not made available to the public due to security concerns. Hiwassee Dam is named after the Hiwassee River. The river's name is derived from the Cherokee word for savanna, or large meadow. Two of the tribe's towns along the river in the 18th century were also called Hiwassee.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hiwassee Dam (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 35.151388888889 ° E -84.1775 °
placeShow on map

Address



North Carolina, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Hiwassee Dam
Hiwassee Dam
Share experience

Nearby Places