Douglas Lake, also called Douglas Reservoir, is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

created by an impoundment of the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville form ...

in Eastern Tennessee. This lake is located only a few miles from the

Pigeon Forge Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 6,343. Situated just 5 miles (8 km) north of Great Smoky Mountains National Pa ...

Gatlinburg Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,944 at the 2010 Census and a U.S. Census population of 3,577 in 2020. It is a popular vacation res ...

area, and also the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, w ...

. The

Douglas Dam Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to mee ...

was built by the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

at a record pace from February 2, 1942, through February 19, 1943, to provide

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

and to control flooding downstream in the

Tennessee River Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Ca ...

.TVA: Douglas Reservoir

. Retrieved on 2008-06-20. Douglas Dam is located just over upstream from the French Broad River's confluence with the

Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

, to form the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

. The Douglas Lake reservoir inundates about a stretch of the French Broad River between the Douglas Dam and the Irish Bottoms area near Newport. Small portions of the Nolichucky and

Pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

rivers are also impounded by the lake. During the winter months, the

lowers the water level to help control flooding, meet power demands, and many other objectives. This is important to know in advance to make plans to stay near the lake. The resort town of

Baneberry ''Actaea'', commonly called baneberry, bugbane and cohosh, is a genus of flowering plants of the family Ranunculaceae, native to subtropical, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Taxonomy The genus was redefine ...

is located on the northern shores of the lake in Jefferson County. Dandridge, the county seat of Jefferson County, is located mostly on the northern shores with a small portion on the southern. Parts of downtown Dandridge are located below the lake's operating levels, and are protected by an earthen dam.

References

External links

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Douglas Lake Fishing Map
French Broad River 1943 establishments in Tennessee Tennessee Valley Authority Reservoirs in Tennessee Protected areas of Cocke County, Tennessee Protected areas of Hamblen County, Tennessee Protected areas of Jefferson County, Tennessee Protected areas of Sevier County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Cocke County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Hamblen County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Jefferson County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Sevier County, Tennessee {{Tennessee-protected-area-stub