Watauga Lake Right Now
Watauga Lake's water level has been falling over the past week. Watershed conditions are abnormally dry. Today's forecast calls for sunny.
- 7-day level change
- Down 0.45 feet
- Forecast high
- 77°F
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Overview
Watauga Lake is a 6,430-acre reservoir on the Watauga River in Carter and Johnson counties in northeastern Tennessee, east of Elizabethton. It was created in 1948 when the Tennessee Valley Authority completed Watauga Dam. At about 1,959 feet above mean sea level, it is the highest-elevation TVA reservoir and is operated for hydropower, flood storage, and recreation.
About 16 miles long with roughly 105 miles of shoreline, an average depth near 53 feet, and a maximum depth of about 265 feet at the dam, Watauga is a deep, clear mountain lake framed by the Cherokee National Forest. The pool typically varies about 9 feet in a normal year for seasonal flood storage.
The lake is popular for boating, paddling, and fishing for smallmouth bass, walleye, and trout, with fisheries managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TVA recreation areas, Forest Service sites, and boat ramps provide public access around the reservoir.
Water levels on Watauga Lake are managed by TVA around a summer full pool near 1,960 feet above mean sea level. Releases flow into Wilbur Lake immediately downstream, and elevations shift seasonally and with rainfall and generation, so monitoring current lake levels is helpful for boating, fishing, and dock access.
Watauga Lake is a 6,430-acre reservoir on the Watauga River and Elk River managed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).