Santeetlah Lake/Dam Shot today

Storms moving in today over Lake Santeetlah. Did you know this huge lake is entirely surrounded by Graham County? Here are some more facts about it:

Lake Santeetlah is a man-made reservoir created in 1928. The name is derived from a Cherokee word meaning “Blue Waters.

It covers approximately 2,881 acres of surface area and features 76 miles of shoreline. Because it is a mountain reservoir with many narrow coves and curves rather than a broad, uniform pool, it has an incredibly expansive footprint relative to its total surface acreage. Odds are if you are anywhere around Robbinsville/Graham County and cross over a body of water/bridge, it was probably part of this lake. It reaches WAY out into the far reaches of the county, all the way out by Cherohala Skyway as well.

It has a shoreline of 76 miles, roughly 80% of which is protected wilderness managed by the U.S. Forest Service. (ie: No residential or commercial development allowed)

It reaches maximum depths of over 400 feet in certain spots, with a depth of roughly 88 feet near the Santeetlah Dam at the bottom.

Santeetlah dam shown near the bottom of this photo feeds almost all of the water you see in the Cheoah river, the river that runs alongside 129 between Robbinsville and Tapoco Lodge. The rest is diverted through those pipes you see over the road, and they take it all the way across the county to the power station you see on Moonshiner 28 between the store and Fontana Dam.

Lake Santeetlah sits at a high mountain elevation of roughly 1,815 to 1,940 feet above sea level depending on seasonal water level management. Yes that is a 100 foot variation in water level, although it is almost always held to a seemingly static level by the talented engineers controlling the water flow out.

It holds about 50 BILLION gallons of water, continuously fed entirely by pristine mountain streams from the local watershed, but no other dams feed into this lake.