Lake+Allatoona+Dam

Lake Allatoona Dam

Physical Properties: Air Temp: 66°F Soil Temp: 60°F Soil Texture: sandy, clay loam Soil pH: 6.5 very slightly acid

You continue to follow the Etowah River to it's first man made barrier, the Allatoona ** Dam **. Dam construction began 30 miles NW of Atlanta in Cartersville, Georgia in 1949 in allowance of the Flood Control Acts of 1941. It was completed in 1950. The dam holds back 16 billion ft3 of water from the Etowah River to create Lake Allatoona, which is 145 ft deep at its deepest point, covers 12,010 acres, and has a shoreline of 270 miles. The presence of the dam along the Etowah River has prevented nearly $80 million in flood damages since 1950.( 13 ) The Etowah River flows onward west from the dam towards Rome, Ga. The river's ** stream discharge ** at this point is an average annual 1,620 ft3/s, but again, with the recent rains, the river's discharge is much higher at 3,640 ft/s.( 14 ) You notice a change in the ** relief ** of the land. No longer in mountainous landscapes with steep ** slopes **, you have entered into the Piedmont province. Downstream from the dam you will enter the Ridge and Valley physiographic province.



You realize that the river discharge has increased more than 11 times what it was at the previous two stops in the Blue Ridge. The river has widened as it left the mountains and entered its floodplain giving it a greater capacity for water. The dam also functions as a hydroelectric plant and is a source of water to the three counties where it's located: Bartow, Cherokee, and Cobb. Hydroelectric power generation at Allatoona returns more than $3.5 million to the Federal Treasury annually.( 15 ) Lake Allatoona Dam is operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is stocked annually with a variety of bass, crappie, bream, gar and catfish from the fish stocking program run by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.( 16 ) Oaks, maples, blackgums, dogwoods, magnolias and hickory dot trees provide a cabana around the lake.( 16 ) Azaleas, irises, lilies, daffodils, violets and trilliums all provide color to the shores from March to late October.( 16 ) The vegetation surrounding the lake provides a home for a number of different species including raccoons, bobcats, red and gray tailed fox, chipmunks, opossums, frogs, turtles, toads, insects, 400 different types of birds and black bears.( 16 ) There are six different types of snakes located in and around the lake with two of the six being poisonous, the copperhead and the rattlesnake.( 16 )

The dam provides many functions to modern human society, but dams themselves are not the best things for the environment. The construction of dams create many problems; first, the reservoir that is created floods many of the habitats that exist, driving out many species and even people. Also the large amount of new surface area increases evaporation, and the rotting plant material below releases carbon dioxide. Dams also break up river ecosystems and prevent sediments from reaching downstream. This barrier to sediment means that downstream the coastlines and river beds will erode at a faster rate and threaten coastal systems. **Deltas**, **meanders**, and floodplains begin to deteriorate, along with the agriculture and people they support [ 17 ]. Although these effects may not seem like they affect humans, they do. A good example is the Colorado River. This river has so many dams and diversions by people that very little, if any, reaches the ocean. This has caused many of the people who rely on the last segment of the river to leave out of poverty. It has also caused a group of Native Americans who use the river to get to the ocean and fish, to have their culture almost completely wiped out. While dams do serve the needs of people, by supplying power or preventing floods, they have a negative impact on the planet. So, are these conveniences worth the price?



After the dam, the river flows toward the historical site of the Etowah Indian Mounds.
 * Question 3: What is one benefit of a dam and one problem that dams create?**