Overview
Carters Lake is a 3,200-acre reservoir on the Coosawattee River in Gilmer and Murray counties, tucked into the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest Georgia. It was created in the 1970s when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed Carters Dam, the tallest earthen dam east of the Mississippi River. The project is operated for hydroelectric power (including pumped storage), flood risk management, water quality, and recreation.
Carters is the deepest lake in Georgia, with an average depth near 200 feet and a maximum depth of about 450 feet, and it has roughly 62 miles of almost entirely undeveloped, forested shoreline. There are no private docks or lakeside homes; the steep mountain walls, cold clear water, and rugged coves give the reservoir a wild, scenic character that sets it apart from Georgia's Piedmont lakes.
The lake is prized for its clean water and quality fishing for spotted bass, largemouth bass, walleye, and hybrid and striped bass, with fisheries managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Corps-operated campgrounds, boat ramps, a marina, hiking trails, and overlooks provide public access, and the surrounding land remains largely in national forest and Corps ownership.
Water levels on Carters Lake are managed by the Corps of Engineers around a normal full pool near 1,074 feet above mean sea level (NGVD29). Because the project includes pumped-storage operation between Carters Lake and its downstream reregulation reservoir, the pool can fluctuate daily with power generation in addition to seasonal and rainfall-driven changes, so monitoring current lake levels is helpful for boating, fishing, and shoreline activities.
Current Conditions
Carters Lake is currently 0.37 feet below full pool and has been rising over the past week.
- 7-day trendRisingLatest movement can differ from the seven-day trend.
- 7-day changeUp 1.00 ft
- 30-day changeUp 0.22 ft
- Drought conditionsAbnormally Dry
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Carters Lake is a 3,200-acre reservoir on the Coosawattee River managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.