Ocoee Dam No. 3
| Ocoee Dam No. 3 | |
|---|---|
Ocoee Dam No. 3, circa 1945
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| Official name | Ocoee Dam Number 3 |
| Location | Polk County, Tennessee, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°2′26″N 84°28′0″W / 35.04056°N 84.46667°WCoordinates: 35°2′26″N 84°28′0″W / 35.04056°N 84.46667°W |
| Construction began | July 17, 1941 |
| Opening date | April 30, 1943 |
| Operator(s) | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Ocoee River |
| Height | 110 feet (34 m) |
| Length | 612 feet (187 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Ocoee No. 3 Reservoir |
Ocoee Dam No. 3 is a hydroelectric dam on the Ocoee River in Polk County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of four dams on the Toccoa/Ocoee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to meet emergency demands for electricity during World War II. The dam impounds the 360-acre (150 ha) Ocoee No. 3 Reservoir, which stretches 11 miles (18 km) upriver to the Tennessee-Georgia state line. Ocoee No. 3's powerhouse is actually located several miles downstream from the dam, and is fed by a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) conduit that carries water to it from the reservoir.
Ocoee Dam No. 3 is located 29 miles (47 km) above the mouth of the Ocoee River, where the river slices a deep gap between Little Frog Mountain to the north and Big Frog Mountain to the south. Both of these mountains are protected by federal wilderness areas which are adjacent to TVA's Ocoee No. 3 reservation boundary. Ocoee Dam No. 2 is just 5 miles (8.0 km) downstream, and Blue Ridge Dam is 23 miles (37 km) upstream. The Toccoa River, which flows down from its source in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia, enters Tennessee (where it becomes the Ocoee River) approximately 11 miles (18 km) upstream from Ocoee Dam No. 3, near the Copperhill area. The Ocoee Scenic Byway— which is part of U.S. Route 64— passes just north of the dam.
Ocoee Dam No. 3 is a concrete gravity diversion-type dam 110 feet (34 m) high and 612 feet (187 m) long, and has a generating capacity of 28,800 kilowatts. The dam's concrete overfall spillway has a discharge capacity of 95,000 cubic feet per second (2,700 m3/s), 1,560 cubic feet (44 m3) of which is via the dam's two 5-foot (1.5 m) by 7-foot (2.1 m) sluice gates located near the bottom of the dam. Ocoee Reservoir No. 3 has 360 acres (150 ha) of water surface and 24 miles (39 km) of shoreline. Major recreational releases are typically scheduled for weekends during the summer months.
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