Chickamauga Lake is a United States reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 along the Tennessee River

Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...

 created when the Chickamauga Dam

Chickamauga Dam

Chickamauga Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to improve navigation and bring flood control and economic...

, as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...

, was completed in 1940. The lake stretches from Watts Bar Dam

Watts Bar Dam

Watts Bar Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Meigs County and Rhea County, Tennessee, USA. The dam is one of nine dams on the main Tennessee River channel operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in early 1940s to provide flood control and electricity and...

 at mile 529.9 (853 km) to Chickamauga Dam

Chickamauga Dam

Chickamauga Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to improve navigation and bring flood control and economic...

 at mile 471.0 (758 km) making the lake 58.9 miles (94.8 km) long. It borders Rhea County

Rhea County, Tennessee

Rhea County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 28,400. Its county seat is Dayton.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, Meigs County

Meigs County, Tennessee

Meigs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 11,753. Its county seat is Decatur.-History:Before 1819, the area that is now Meigs County was Cherokee territory. White settlers established ferries to cross the Tennessee River from Rhea County as...

, and Hamilton County

Hamilton County, Tennessee

Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was named for Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 310,935 . Its county seat is Chattanooga....

 with 810 miles (1,303 km) of shoreline and two bridges crossing it at State Highway 60 and Highway 30. The lake is commonly used for recreational and outdoor activities, especially at the southern end, due to the high population density surrounding it. It was named after the Chickamauga (tribe) of Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

s who used to live in the area.

The Hiwassee River

Hiwassee River

The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in northern Georgia and flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee River a few miles west of State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee...

 empties into Chickamauga lake at Hiwassee Island, just north of the Highway 60 bridge at mile 500 (804.5 km).

Chickamauga Lake is immediately downstream from Watts Bar Lake

Watts Bar Lake

Watts Bar Lake is a reservoir on the Tennessee River created by Watts Bar Dam as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system.-Geography:Located about midway between Chattanooga and Knoxville, the lake begins as the Tennessee River below Fort Loudon Dam in Lenoir City, Tennessee and stretches...

 and immediately upstream from Nickajack Lake

Nickajack Lake

Nickajack Lake is the reservoir created by Nickajack Dam as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The lake stretches from Nickajack Dam to Chickamauga Dam, and runs along the shores of Chattanooga, TN...

.

Full pool for Chickamauga lake is 682 feet above sea level; the current lake level can be checked here. The normal operating zone is between 675 and 677 ft through the end of March, rising steadily to a summer range of 681.5 to 682.5 by the middle of May. Then, full pool
is maintained through the end of August, at which time the level drops steadily back down to 676 ft by the end of November. Actual
lake levels will, of course, vary due to weather conditions and power needs.