Summary
Tellico Reservoir was planned as an extension of nearby Fort Loudoun Reservoir. Tellico Dam serves to divert water through a short canal into Fort Loudoun, linking the two reservoirs in their joint functions of flood control, power production, and improved navigation. They help regulate flooding downstream, especially at Chattanooga. The canal also allows barges to enter the Little Tennessee River without a lock, thus significantly increasing commercial barge operations in the Valley.

Several recreation areas, which include boat ramps, day-use areas, fishing areas, and campgrounds, are available at Tellico. The reservoir offers excellent trout and bass fishing.

On Tellico's banks is a reconstruction of the original Fort Loudoun, which was built by the British during the French and Indian War. It was named for John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun, commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America at the time. Another nearby historic attraction is the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, honoring the Cherokee genius who invented the Cherokee alphabet.

Summary
Upper Bear Creek is one of four dams—the others are Bear Creek, Little Bear Creek, and Cedar Creek—that provide flood control, recreation, and water supply in northwest Alabama. Upper Bear Dam is located in Marion County, and the reservoir is in three counties: Marion, Franklin, and Winston.

The Bear Creek area is popular with all types of boaters, including canoeists and kayakers. The Bear Creek Floatway, which flows from Upper Bear Creek Dam into Bear Creek Reservoir, is a popular spot for teaching first-timers to negotiate rapids and work with the current.

Below Bear Creek Dam the Lower Bear Creek Canoe Trail provides a more leisurely float, running a total of 34 miles down the creek and all the way to Pickwick Landing Dam on the Tennessee.

The scenic area is also used by fishermen, picnickers, birdwatchers, and sightseers.

Summary
Watts Bar, located about midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga, is one of nine TVA dams on the Tennessee River. The reservoir attracts millions of recreation visits each year for boating, fishing, swimming, camping, and other outdoor activities. A scenic overlook near the dam provides visitors with a panoramic view of the reservoir and surrounding countryside.

The dam was completed in January 1942, three weeks after Pearl Harbor, and provided urgently needed electricity for the war effort.

The lock at Watts Bar handles more than a million tons of cargo a year, and the reservoir plays an important role in flood control. In conjunction with other tributary and main-river reservoirs above Chattanooga, it is of special value to that city, which is the point of greatest flood hazard in the Valley.

Without the regulation these dams provide, Chattanooga and other downstream communities would have suffered several major floods and many smaller ones over the years that would have resulted in damage amounting to some $4.9 billion.

Summary
Wilbur and Watauga Reservoirs are located almost three miles from each other on the Watauga River in some of the most beautiful country in the Tennessee River watershed. The reservoirs are surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and flanked by the Appalachian Mountains. Even in the dog days of summer, Wilbur and Watauga remain cool, with a constant breeze blowing through the Watauga River gorge.