Lakes of TN - All man made!? (Memphis, Chattanooga: for sale, house)

[thebruiser500]

I was surprised to learn that these lakes in central Tennessee are man made! I had assumed they were natural.



Just curious about this really. Why doesn't TN have natural lakes? In terms of people who want to go and enjoy these lakes--living on the lake, fishing, or just going for a picnic and a look--how do these man made lakes compare to natural ones?


Feel free to share any thoughts on your favorite or most hated TN lakes!!

[nashvols]

Most of the lakes are man-made for two reasons: hydroelectric power and flood control (see: TVA).

One natural lake that does exist is in the NW corner of the state, Reelfoot Lake. It was formed by the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes.

I can't think of any other sizable natural lakes in the state.

[Canadian2021]

Oh i didnt know that. I thought they were natural lakes

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

I was surprised to learn that these lakes in central Tennessee are man made! I had assumed they were natural.



Just curious about this really. Why doesn't TN have natural lakes? In terms of people who want to go and enjoy these lakes--living on the lake, fishing, or just going for a picnic and a look--how do these man made lakes compare to natural ones?


Feel free to share any thoughts on your favorite or most hated TN lakes!!

Most TN lakes were created by TVA when they put dams in Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. The dams are there to provide some flood control, navigation for barges, hydroelectric power. Some of the lakes may provide drinking water for their communities. Lake Radnor was created by the L&N railroad to make a supply of water for their steam engines. Raccoon Mountain is a lake where water is pumped up during the day then released at night to produce electricity.

Since the TVA owns most of the lake property, there is no way to live on the lake. There are some marinas & other business on the lake. Many can be used as a daytrip for boating, fishing, etc. There can be lakefront parks for boat ramp access, camping, picnics, recreation. The Land Between the Lakes in TN & KY is a large national wildlife area.

Reelfoot Lake was formed from the 1811 New Madrid earthquake. It may have been formed by a one time channel of the Mississippi River. (There is a bit of KY in IN near Evansville for the same reason). There may be some other loops in the Mississippi south from Reelfoot into Memphis that could be "lakes".

Main difference from "natural lakes" may be having lake levels somewhat controlled by TVA. In wet years have plenty of water to provide cheap energy. Size of the lake may determine how rough it can be in bad weather. TWRA controls whatever fish & other critters live there.

Reelfoot lake can be cool in winter months to have a number of bald eagles spend the winter there. Some will build nests & have eaglets.

[An Einnseanair]

The only ways a "natural" lake can form are:

• Glaciers dig out a basin which fills with water (no glaciers here)
• An avalanche or glacial till blocks a valley with a natural dam (I don't know of any)
• A turbulent river carves out a basin upstream from a bottleneck or hard ridge, but these are usually small and not really "lakes". Lula "Lake" is near Chattanooga, but it's in Georgia.
• An area of land subsides and fills with water (Reelfoot has already been mentioned).
• An "oxbow" lake forms when a large meandering river changes course. Lots of these near the MS River.
• A lake can form from a depressed region without an outlet (think Great Salt Lake in Utah, or the Salton Sea in CA). Eastern TN has lots of these areas, but our bedrock is soluble (karst) so they all drained into sinkholes centuries ago.

So other than oxbows along the MS river and Reelfoot, the only large lakes in TN are man-made.

Originally Posted by GWoodle

Raccoon Mountain is a lake where water is pumped up during the day then released at night to produce electricity.

It's the opposite. Water is pumped up at night when electricity demands are lower (factories and office buildings shut down, air conditioners aren't running as much, etc.), then released to generate electricity at night.

[thebruiser500]

Originally Posted by GWoodle

Most TN lakes were created by TVA when they put dams in Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. The dams are there to provide some flood control, navigation for barges, hydroelectric power. Some of the lakes may provide drinking water for their communities. Lake Radnor was created by the L&N railroad to make a supply of water for their steam engines. Raccoon Mountain is a lake where water is pumped up during the day then released at night to produce electricity.

Since the TVA owns most of the lake property, there is no way to live on the lake. There are some marinas & other business on the lake. Many can be used as a daytrip for boating, fishing, etc. There can be lakefront parks for boat ramp access, camping, picnics, recreation. The Land Between the Lakes in TN & KY is a large national wildlife area.

Reelfoot Lake was formed from the 1811 New Madrid earthquake. It may have been formed by a one time channel of the Mississippi River. (There is a bit of KY in IN near Evansville for the same reason). There may be some other loops in the Mississippi south from Reelfoot into Memphis that could be "lakes".

Main difference from "natural lakes" may be having lake levels somewhat controlled by TVA. In wet years have plenty of water to provide cheap energy. Size of the lake may determine how rough it can be in bad weather. TWRA controls whatever fish & other critters live there.

Reelfoot lake can be cool in winter months to have a number of bald eagles spend the winter there. Some will build nests & have eaglets.

Why on earth does TVA own all the prime lake front property? Do they have plans to sell it or let normal people take it? It seems to me they are absolutely stunting the growth of TN in an unnatural way and actively preventing Tennesseeans from being happy.

[thebruiser500]

An Einn, thanks for the response! That geology stuff is interesting. I guess this predicts way more lakes in the North, and way less in the South, which I guess is what we have. I just drove by Lake Erie, really pretty place.

This Raccoon Lake is kind of crazy, so they must lose electricity if they are pumping it up during the day only to harvest it at night? Is this a way to turn excess solar power during the day into night time hydro?

[VinceTheExplorer]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

Why on earth does TVA own all the prime lake front property? Do they have plans to sell it or let normal people take it? It seems to me they are absolutely stunting the growth of TN in an unnatural way and actively preventing Tennesseeans from being happy.

Love that they do this and applaud TVA. Need less developers and people coming here to build along our waterfronts and mountain peaks.

It’s what keeps the state beautiful and preserves areas for outdoor recreation, not to mention the aesthetics of looking around and seeing nature and not the McMansions of those living / retiring from outside of the area.

That’s what that hot mess of an area in nearby Asheville, North Carolina is for. Every peak there has an ugly house or subdivision on it, and the waterways there are polluted and getting worse year over year.

[crltn19]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

Why on earth does TVA own all the prime lake front property? Do they have plans to sell it or let normal people take it? It seems to me they are absolutely stunting the growth of TN in an unnatural way and actively preventing Tennesseeans from being happy.

Your comments are amusing and perplexing at the same time. First, TVA doesn't own "all" the lake front lots and there are plenty of lake front properties for sale. Second, regarding your "stunting the growth" part. What are you talking about? Thanks to TVA, power is relatively cheap in this part of the country. The dams and flood control mechanisms have saved countless lives over the decades. In fact, it's the very "natural" rivers and creeks that tend to flood and wreak the most havoc after heavy rain. Finally, let's not forget about the recreational opportunities created by these impounded large bodies of water like boating enjoyed by thousands of residents every day. Thanks for your grave concern but we are quite happy and don't see or feel it as "unnatural".

[grampaTom]

Originally Posted by An Einnseanair

The only ways a "natural" lake can form are:

• Glaciers dig out a basin which fills with water (no glaciers here)
• An avalanche or glacial till blocks a valley with a natural dam (I don't know of any)
• A turbulent river carves out a basin upstream from a bottleneck or hard ridge, but these are usually small and not really "lakes". Lula "Lake" is near Chattanooga, but it's in Georgia.
• An area of land subsides and fills with water (Reelfoot has already been mentioned).
• An "oxbow" lake forms when a large meandering river changes course. Lots of these near the MS River.
• A lake can form from a depressed region without an outlet (think Great Salt Lake in Utah, or the Salton Sea in CA). Eastern TN has lots of these areas, but our bedrock is soluble (karst) so they all drained into sinkholes centuries ago.

So other than oxbows along the MS river and Reelfoot, the only large lakes in TN are man-made.

It's the opposite. Water is pumped up at night when electricity demands are lower (factories and office buildings shut down, air conditioners aren't running as much, etc.), then released to generate electricity at night.

The electricity is generated during DAYTIME hours when use is greater. The water is pumped back at night.

There are 'pump back' lakes in Oklahoma where I grew up too.