Tellico Lake 

 

Tellico Lake Homes have 357 miles of shoreline and 15,560 acres of water surface for recreation activities. Tellico Dam is 129 feet high and reaches 3,238 feet across the Little Tennessee River. Tellico Reservoir stretches 33 miles along the Little Tennessee River into the mountains of east Tennessee. Tellico has a flood-storage capacity of 120,000 acre-feet. Water from Tellico helps drive the four generating units at Fort Loudoun Dam. 

There are 7 major lakes surrounding Knoxville. These are Cherokee, Douglas, Fort Loudoun, Melton Hill, Norris, Tellico and Watts Bar Lakes.

Melton Hill Lake is the smallest. This lake fluctuates day-to-day. It maintains water level consistently throughout the year.

Norris, Douglas and Cherokee Lakes are reservoir lakes. The water level varies the most on these lakes. Fort Loudoun, Watts Bar and Tellico vary 4 to 7 feet. These six lakes are lowered in the winter months, generally from mid-November to mid-April. Most folks feel it’s too cold to go out on the lake in those months. Personally, I feel year round view is important, not year round water. (It really is too cold on the water!) But that is just my opinion. 

For more information on lake levels, visit the TVA website – Reservoir Information, select the lake you are interested in and check the Operating Guides.