Cherokee Dam
| Cherokee Dam | |
|---|---|
Cherokee Dam | |
| Official name | Cherokee Dam |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Jefferson and Grainger counties, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 36°9′58″N 83°29′54″W / 36.16611°N 83.49833°W |
| Purpose | Flood control, electricity |
| Construction began | August 1, 1940 |
| Opening date | December 5, 1941 |
| Construction cost | US$30.3 million (equivalent to $541,219,074 in 2024) |
| Operator(s) | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Holston River |
| Height | 175 feet (53 m) |
| Length | 6,760 feet (2,060 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Cherokee Lake |
| Surface area | 28,780 acres (11,650 ha) |
| Normal elevation | 1,047 ft (319 m) |
| Power Station | |
| Commission date | 1942-1953 |
| Type | hydroelectric |
| Turbines | 2 x 35 MW, 2 x 33 MW Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 136 MW |
Cherokee Dam is a hydroelectric dam located on the Holston River in Grainger County and Jefferson County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to help meet urgent demands for energy at the outbreak of World War II. Cherokee Dam is 175 feet (53 m) high and impounds the 28,780-acre (11,650 ha) Cherokee Lake. It has a generating capacity of 136 megawatts. The dam was named for the Cherokee, a Native American tribe that controlled much of East Tennessee when the first European settlers arrived in the mid-18th century.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2017.