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Fontana Background

dam type: concrete gravity

purpose: flood control, hydroelectric power, navigation, recreation

height: 480 ft (146 m)

width at foundation: 375 ft (114 m)

length of crest: 2365 ft (721 m)

storage capacity: 1,443,000 acre-ft.

location: near Tapoco, North Carolina, USA

river: Little Tennessee River

reservoir: Fontana Lake

spillway (*) width: 140 ft (42.6 m)


owned by: Tennessee Valley Authority

volume of concrete in the dam: 2,818,000 yd3 (2,152,222 m3)

downstream hazard (NID): high

emergency action plan (NID): yes

At the time of planning and construction, Fontana was one of nine dams to be built to manage the Little Tennessee River. There was no opposition.

They also considered an embankment dam, an arch dam, and a buttress dam for the project. But the gravity dam design proved the most efficient and economical and many dams of this type had been built before.


construction start date: 1942

construction end date: 1944 (during World War II)

number of workers: 5000. Welch Cove was built for the workers, which is now Fontana Village.

cost (in 1944): $70,420,688.48

Vertical contraction joints connect large sections of the dam to allow for expansion and contraction. The downstream face of the dam faces south and absorbs a large amount of heat from the sun, which causes expansion.




Fontana problem Kolnbrein dam