Nottely Dam

Nottely Dam
Nottely Dam
Official nameNottely Dam
LocationUnion County, Georgia, United States
Coordinates34°57′31″N 84°5′16″W / 34.95861°N 84.08778°W / 34.95861; -84.08778
Construction beganJuly 17, 1941
Opening dateJanuary 24, 1942
Operator(s)Tennessee Valley Authority
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsNottely River
Height184 feet (56 m)
Length2,300 feet (700 m)
Reservoir
CreatesLake Nottely

Nottely Dam is a hydroelectric and flood storage dam on the Nottely River in Union County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s as a flood control structure and to help regulate flow at nearby Hiwassee Dam.[1] The dam impounds the Lake Nottely of 4,180 acres (16.9 km2).[2] While the dam was built primarily for flood storage, a generator was installed at Nottely in the 1950s, giving it a small hydroelectric output.[3]

Nottely Dam was named for the Nottely River.[1] The river itself was named after the Cherokee village of Naduhli (ᎾᏚᏟ), which was once situated along its banks.[4] The village name is described variously as coming from the Cherokee for "daring horseman"[5] or from the Muscogee language via Cherokee.[6][better source needed]

  1. ^ a b Tennessee Valley Authority, The Hiwassee Valley Projects Volume 2: The Apalachia, Ocoee No. 3, Nottely, and Chatuge Projects, Technical Report No. 5 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948), pp. 1-8, 15-19, 50-53, 210, 495.
  2. ^ Tennessee Valley Authority, The Nickajack Project: A Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, Initial Operations, and Costs, Technical Report No. 16 (Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1972), pp. 10-11.
  3. ^ Tennessee Valley Authority, Nottely Reservoir. Retrieved: 27 January 2009.
  4. ^ "Nottely River". Britannica.
  5. ^ Cooksey, Elizabeth (2006). "Union County". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  6. ^ Currahee, John (12 November 2010). "Cherokee Place Names, Part 6". Retrieved 2023-08-08.