Lake in the Sky (Tennessee)

Lake in the Sky is an artificial lake in Blount County, Tennessee, formed by damming Flat Creek. It lies in the center of Top of the World, an unincorporated community.

Lake in the Sky
Coordinates35.655187°N 83.907398°W / 35.655187; -83.907398
Primary inflowsFlat Creek
Primary outflowsFlat Creek
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length3,000 feet (910 m)
Max. width500 feet (150 m)
Surface area52.5 acres (21.2 ha)
Surface elevation2,008 feet (612 m)
Location in Tennessee

Location

Lake in the Sky is a small mountain lake located on the slopes of Chilhowee Mountain. Foothills Parkway passes just to the northwest, and the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies just to the southeast.[1] The lake lies in an area called The Flats, on a spur of Chilhowee Mountain. The surrounding country is rugged.[2] Lake in the Sky is at an elevation of 2,008 feet (612 m) above sea level.[3] The nearest major town is Townsend, Tennessee.[4]

Lake

The lake is part of the watershed of the Little River. It is near the head of Flat Creek, a tributary of Hesse Creek.[2] The Flat Creek dam is at the north end of the lake. The dam was built in 1966, forming the 52.5-acre (21.2 ha) lake.[5] Flat Creek is non-navigable.[6]

Lake of the Sky is not operated for flood control purposes, but it is one of several dams in Blount County that may provide some protection against flooding.[7]

Specimens of the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii, an exotic species that is widespread in the United States, have been found in the lake.[8] Downstream of Lake in the Sky, Flat Creek had elevated iron concentrations in fall and summer of 2003. This is a concern since the creek is a direct tributary to a stocked trout stream.[9]

Settlement

Juan Pardo may have visited the future site of the lake during his 1567–68 expedition. He found a small reddish stone, which was examined by Andrés Suarez, a "melter of gold and silver". Suarez considered that it contained silver.[10][lower-alpha 1]

The lake today is surrounded by a small community at 35.6534181°N 83.9099010°W / 35.6534181; -83.9099010 named the Top of the World Estates.[12] The Blount County Fire Protection District has its station #8 at 5714 Flats Road, on the east shore of the lake.[13]

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References

Notes

  1. The exact location where Pardo found the stone is uncertain. One source places it in the ridge and valley country to the north of today's Knoxville, Tennessee.[11]

Citations

  1. Foothills Parkway.
  2. Tennessee Anthropologist 1987, p. 77.
  3. Lake In The Sky Fishing...
  4. Lake in the Sky Dam USGS...
  5. Arnwine, Sparks & James 2006, p. 167.
  6. Aquatic Species and River Length..., p. 6.
  7. Flood Insurance Study, Blount County.
  8. Specimen ID 614556.
  9. Arnwine, Sparks & James 2006, p. 102.
  10. Hudson 1990, p. 159.
  11. DePratter, Hudson & Smith 1987, p. 45.
  12. Top of the World Estates: USGS.
  13. Stations: Blount County Fire Protection District.

Sources

  • "Aquatic Species and River Length of Non-Navigable Waters in Tennessee" (PDF). Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • Arnwine, Deborah H.; Sparks, Kimberly J.; James, Rebecca R. (September 2006). "Probabilistic Monitoring of Streams Below Small Impoundments in Tennessee" (PDF). Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-12-19.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • DePratter, Chester B.; Hudson, Charles; Smith, Marvin T. (1 January 1987). "The Route of Juan Pardo's Explorations in the Interior Southeast, 1566–1568". University of South Carolina – Columbia. Retrieved 2013-12-19.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "Flood Insurance Study, Blount County, Tennessee" (PDF). Federal Emergency Management Agency. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • "Foothills Parkway". BlueRidgeHighlander.com. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • Hudson, Charles M. (1990). The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Explorations of the Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566–1568. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-87474-498-9. Retrieved 2013-12-19.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "Lake In The Sky Fishing in Blount County, Tennessee". Fishing Works. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • "Lake in the Sky Dam USGS Blockhouse Quad, Tennessee, Topographic Map". TopoZone. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • "Specimen ID 614556". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • "Stations". Blount County Fire Protection District. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • Tennessee Anthropologist. Tennessee Anthropological Association. 1987. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  • "Top of the World Estates". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
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