Norris in Anderson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
The TVA System of Multi-Purpose Dams
Built for the People of the United States of America
— Norris Dam —
Photographed By Tom Bosse, March 4, 2017
1. The TVA System of Multi-Purpose Dams Marker
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The TVA System of Multi-Purpose Dams. Built for the People of the United States of America. The Tennessee River has its headwaters in the mountains of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. The main stream forms at Knoxville, where the Holston and the French Broad Rivers join.
The valley, 41,000 square miles in area, receives an average of 52 inches of rain a year. In terms of water discharged into the Ohio and Mississippi, the Tennessee River is about equal in size to the Missouri.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has harnessed the river with a multi-purpose system of dams and reservoirs which regulates floods, improves navigation, and generates electric power.
High dams on the tributaries create large storage reservoirs which hold back flood waters, releasing them when necessary to maintain navigation depths downstream, and at the same time generating electric power. The system also helps protect the lower Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.
The nine main river dams, with their locks, form a navigable channel 650 miles long, from Knoxville to the Ohio River, an important arm of the nation's inland waterway system connecting 20 states.
Having developed virtually all the river power resources, TVA has built huge coal-burning steam electric plants to help serve the region's growing power needs. TVA power is sold at wholesale to cities and rural electric cooperatives which, in turn, distribute it at retail to homes, farms, business and industry. A few industries and U.S. Government Defense installations that use large amounts of power are served directly by TVA. The largest of these, using more power than a great city, are the atomic plants at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky.
Norris Dam. , You are now at Norris Dam, a multi-purpose dam on the Clinch River. Water stored here helps control floods. Released water generates electricity and helps maintain navigation depths on the Tennessee. Before reaching the Ohio River the same water produces electricity at nine additional dams.
The Tennessee River has its headwaters in the mountains of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. The main stream forms at Knoxville, where the Holston and the French Broad Rivers join.
The valley, 41,000 square miles in area, receives an average of 52 inches of rain a year. In terms of water discharged into the Ohio and Mississippi, the Tennessee River is about equal in size to the Missouri.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has harnessed the river with a multi-purpose system of dams and reservoirs which regulates floods, improves navigation, and generates electric power.
High dams on the tributaries create large storage reservoirs which hold back flood waters, releasing them when necessary to maintain navigation depths downstream, and at the same time generating electric power. The system also helps protect the lower Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.
The nine main river dams, with their locks, form a navigable channel 650 miles long, from Knoxville to the Ohio River, an important arm of the nation's inland waterway system connecting 20 states.
Having developed virtually all the river power resources, TVA has built huge coal-burning steam electric plants to help serve the region's growing power needs. TVA power is sold at wholesale to cities and rural electric cooperatives which, in turn, distribute it
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at retail to homes, farms, business and industry. A few industries and U.S. Government Defense installations that use large amounts of power are served directly by TVA. The largest of these, using more power than a great city, are the atomic plants at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky.
Norris Dam
You are now at Norris Dam, a multi-purpose dam on the Clinch River. Water stored here helps control floods. Released water generates electricity and helps maintain navigation depths on the Tennessee. Before reaching the Ohio River the same water produces electricity at nine additional dams.
Location. 36° 13.4′ N, 84° 5.65′ W. Marker is in Norris, Tennessee, in Anderson County. Marker can be reached from Norris Freeway (Tennessee Route 441), on the left when traveling south. Marker is located at the Norris Dam Overlook. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Norris TN 37828, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Norris. (Submitted on March 8, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.)
Photographed By Tom Bosse, March 4, 2017
3. Norris Dam
Photographed By Tom Bosse, March 4, 2017
4. Norris Dam
Credits. This page was last revised on June 4, 2018. It was originally submitted on March 8, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 430 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 8, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
