Kentucky Dam
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trailhound1
N 37° 00.784 W 088° 16.150
16S E 387091 N 4097074
Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston County and Marshall County in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is located near the communities of Gilbertsville, Grand Rivers, and Lake City.
Waymark Code: WMA21C
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 11/03/2010
Views: 7
Kentucky Dam is located just over 22 miles (35 km) above the mouth of the Tennessee River, which empties into the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s and early 1940s to improve navigation on the lower part of the river and reduce flooding on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The dam impounds the Kentucky Lake of 160,000 acres (65,000 ha), which is the largest of TVA's reservoirs and the largest artificial lake by area in the Eastern United States.
Kentucky Dam is 206 feet (63 m) high, although over half the dam is submerged by water. At 8,422 feet (2,567 m) long, Kentucky Dam is the longest dam on the Tennessee River and the longest in the TVA system. The dam has a generating capacity of 223,100 kilowatts, and its 24-bay spillway has a total discharge of 1,050,000 cubic feet per second (30,000 m3/s).
Waterway where the dam is located: Tennessee River
Main use of the Water Dam: Improve Navigation
Material used in the structure: Concrete
Height of Dam: 206 feet
Date built: 05/01/1938
Fishing Allowed: yes
Motor Sports Allowed: yes
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Visit Instructions:
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