Cherokee Lake

Cherokee Lake, also known as the Cherokee Reservoir, is a reservoir in Tennessee.

It was created by the damming of the Holston River above Cherokee Dam.

The dam has a water surface of 1165 km ² and a storage space of 924 379 000 m³. Usually, the water level of the reservoir fluctuates by 8.2 m throughout the year. The Cherokee Dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority and serves the power generation and flood control. The dam was built in record time. Construction began on August 1, 1940 was completed on 5 December 1941.

There are public lakeshore at the reservoir, the Panther Creek State Park and other public parks. Furthermore, at the lakeside a commercial dock, Resorts, a State Wildlife Management Area along the shore line. All this enables the use of the reservoir for various recreational activities.

To ensure sufficiently high concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the river below the dam, which are vital to the river fauna and flora, oxygen is forced into the lower layers of the water of the reservoir.