Fontana Dam is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA is a federally owned Corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles (217 km long in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States
The dam is 2,365 feet (721 m) long and 480 feet (146 m) high making it the tallest dam in the Eastern United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It impounds Fontana Lake. Fontana Lake is a man made Lake on the Little Tennessee River located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina.
For thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail, it marks the beginning or end of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, depending on their direction of travel. Thru-hiking is the process of Hiking a Long-distance trail from end to end The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains
History
Construction on the dam began in 1942 and finished in November 1944 at a cost of $70,420,688. 48 (in 1944). The war-time need for the electric power meant that the crews worked around the clock in 3 shifts every day. Welch Cove (now Fontana Village) was constructed to house the workers whose numbers had reached 5,000 by 1943.
The electric generator started operation in 1945 and had a capacity of 228 MW. Most of the electricity went to the aluminum factories about 45 miles (70 km) away.
The design of the dam was unusual for TVA at the time. The 480 feet high wall required 2,818,000 yd³ (2,155,000 m³) of concrete. It also does not have a conventional spillway but drains water out through two 34 foot (10. 3 m) diameter spill pipes. The design is the work of TVA Chief Architect Roland Wank. Roland Wank (1898&ndash1970 was a Hungarian Modernist Architect, best known for his work for the Tennessee Valley Authority in the
References
- Tennessee Valley Authority (2005). Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Fontana Reservoir". Retrieved 2 August 2005. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
External links
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