Lake Allatoona
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| Lake Allatoona | |
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| Location | Georgia, United States |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Etowah River, Allatoona Creek, Noonday Creek |
| Primary outflows | Etowah River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 12,010 acres (48.6027 km²) |
| Max. depth | 44.196 m |
| Water volume | 453,304.575 km³ |
| Surface elevation | 256 m |
Lake Allatoona (rarely called Allatoona Lake, its government name) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake in Georgia, located in northwestern metro Atlanta. The lake is mostly in southwestern Cherokee County, but a significant part is in southeastern Bartow County, and a small part in Cobb County near Acworth. Red Top Mountain State Park is located on its shores, and Cartersville is the nearest large town.
The lake was authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1941 and 1946. The riverside town of Allatoona was destroyed by the creation of the lake.
The lake is popular for summer recreation, including boating served by several private marinas and public boat ramps. Acworth Beach is an area where the red clay soil has been covered with white beach sand, and roped off with floats for safety from boaters.
Allatoona also supplies much of the drinking water for the three counties it is in. The lake is supplied by the Etowah River, and its major tributary the Little River, as well as smaller streams like Allatoona Creek and Noonday Creek. The Allatoona Dam holding back the lake was built on the Etowah, which in turn merges into the Coosa River downstream (northwest) at Rome. The watershed upstream (mostly northeast) of Allatoona covers about 1,100 square miles (2,850 km²).
The lake's full summer pool is 840 feet (256 m) above mean sea level, though during major droughts it has dropped as much as 13 feet (4 m) below this, exposing dangerous obstacles such as old tree stumps and former hills which are normally submerged at a safe depth. Its maximum capacity or flood stage is +23 feet (7 m) [863 feet (263 m) AMSL], though it has never been known to reach this level, and flooding of boat ramps and other lakeside facilities begins to occur well below it.
In the late 1980s, prolonged drought exposed vast portions of the lake bed revealing tree stumps, roads, foundations of houses (Wilson's farm) and stayed that way for two years. Grass grew in some places and children were seen to mow the grass and play baseball on the newfound vacant lots.
The general contractor for construction of Allatoona Dam was National Constructor Inc. The total cost of the Allatoona project for construction, land, clearing, and relocation was $31,500,000 in 1950. Allatoona serves seven authorized purposes:
- Flood Control
- Hydropower generation
- Water supply
- Recreation
- Fish and wildlife management
- Water quality
- Navigation
The power plant began operation January 31, 1950. Since 1957 the summer pool elevation has been 840 feet (256 m). Since 1957 the winter draw down has been 823 feet (251 m). Two municipalities withdraw water from the lake. The City of Cartersville uses 12 million gallons (45 million liters) per day. Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority uses 43 million gallons (163 million liters) per day.
In 1998 Allatoona clocked 86,813,126 hours, which were more visitor hours than any of the other 450 Corps of Engineer projects in the United States and exceeded that in 2006 with more than 92 million visitor hours.
Hydroelectric power generation at Allatoona returns more than $3.5 million to the Federal Treasury annually.
The Corps collected more than $1 million in Camping and Day Use fees in 2006.
Visitors to Allatoona spent more than $12 million for consumable goods in 1999.
The presence of Allatoona Dam has prevented nearly $80 million in flood damages since 1950.
The record high water on Allatoona of 861.19 feet (262.49 m) occurred on April 9, 1964.
From 1950 through 2006, 281 drownings have occurred in Allatoona.
Allatoona Pass was the site of an intensive 8-hour battle during the Civil War in 1864. More than 1500 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded or missing.
The Corps of Engineers has 662 campsites on Allatoona.
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[edit] Facilities
[edit] Marinas
The Little River Marina is located well upstream on the Little River arm of the lake, which is part of the major Etowah River arm. Access to this privately run marina is directly on Bells Ferry Road on the north shore of what was the original Bell's Ferry going across the river. Etowah Yacht Club and Allatoona Yacht Club are marinas located in the southwest portion of the lake. Galts Ferry Marina is near Snake Island.Other marinas on the lake include Holiday Harbor located off Groovers landing, Park Marina located in Red Top Mountain State park, Wilderness Camp located off GA HWY 20, and Allatoona Landing located off old US HWY 41 near Acworth, GA.
[edit] Boat ramps
Boat ramps are available in Cherokee County at Galts Ferry, Kellogg Creek, Little River, and Victoria. The Galts Ferry ramp is in a cottage area dead-end road and fills up very quickly on weekends. Parking outside of the Army Corps property is strictly forbidden.There are also many ramps in Bartow County. Two of the most popular are the two lane boat ramp at Red Top Mountain State park (fee required). And a two lane ramp at Gatewood Park aka Bartow County Park.
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[edit] Recreation
Acworth Beach is a recreation area located near Acworth. Annually the beach hosts a lake-front 4th of July fireworks event. Red Top Mountain State Park is a Georgia state park located near Emerson and Cartersville, GA. The cliffs overlooking Lake Allatoona from Red Top Mountain are often used by locals for jumping and diving. Caution should be used as little if no medical assistance is available for those who could possibly be injured while undertaking these activities.
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
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[edit] Fishing
Lake Allatoona is the most visited lake in Georgia, according to Georgia Outdoor News (www.gon.com) on the Lake Allatoona Fishing Reports page.
Fishing: The lake is becoming an excellent crappie (speckled perch) fishery, with numbers and size coming up every year, since the lake got a bad reputation for fishing in the 1980s, earning the moniker "The Dead Sea" among GA anglers. Perhaps this reputation is what allowed these fish to come back in population. The most common and successful daytime method for catching them is live minnows or small jigs fished around downed trees, brush, and bridges in 15 feet of water or less. At night, a simple lantern or dock light will attract smaller minnows which crappie feed on, and they'll school together under the light just out of sight. Use live minnows right under the light for steady action all night.
[edit] External links
- LakeAllatoona.com
- USACE site for Lake Allatoona
- 50th anniversary[dead link – history]
- USGS GNIS: Lake Allatoona at GNIS
- Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority
- Flooding
- USACE site on the Lake Allatoona/Upper Etowah River Watershed Study
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