Tallulah Falls Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tallulah Falls Lake |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 Tallulah Falls Lake
Location in Georgia (U.S. state)
Tallulah Falls Lake
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Rabun County, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 34°44′19″N 83°23′46″W / 34.7387°N 83.3961°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Tallulah River |
| Primary outflows | Tallulah River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 63 acres (250,000 m2) |
| Shore length1 | 3.6 mi (5.8 km) |
| Surface elevation | 1,483 ft (452 m) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Tallulah Falls Lake is a cool place in the northeastern part of Georgia. It's in Rabun County. This lake is actually a reservoir, which means it's a large, artificial lake used to store water. It covers about 63 acres, which is like 48 football fields! It also has about 3.6 miles of shoreline, which is the edge where the water meets the land.
Tallulah Falls Lake is part of a chain of six lakes. These lakes were made by special dams that create electricity. This process is called hydroelectric power. The lakes follow the path of the Tallulah River. Our lake is the fourth and smallest in this series. The company that runs these dams is called Georgia Power.
The series of lakes starts with Lake Burton. Then comes Lake Seed, followed by Lake Rabun. After that, you'll find Tallulah Falls Lake. The last two lakes are Lake Tugalo and Lake Yonah. Georgia Power considers Tallulah Falls Lake full when its surface is about 1,500 feet above sea level.
How Tallulah Falls Lake Was Made
Tallulah Falls Lake was created in 1914. This happened when the Tallulah Falls Dam was finished. This dam is made of concrete and has a special tunnel that helps move water.
The Tallulah Falls Dam
The dam itself is quite big. It stands about 126 feet tall, which is like a 12-story building! It stretches for about 426 feet across the river. The water from the lake goes into a long tunnel. This tunnel is 11 feet wide and 14 feet high. It's also super long, stretching for 6,666 feet! That's more than a mile. Workers had to dig this tunnel through solid rock and then line it with concrete to make it strong.
The Hydroelectric Plant
At the end of this long tunnel, there's a power plant called the Tallulah Falls Hydroelectric Plant. This plant is located about 608 feet lower than the dam. This big drop in height helps the water gain a lot of power as it rushes down the tunnel. This power is then used to spin giant turbines, which create electricity. The plant can make a lot of electricity, up to 72,000 kilowatts! That's enough to power many homes.
