Hiwassee Lake

Hiwassee Lake is a man-made reservoir in Cherokee County, North Carolina. It lies along the Hiwassee River created by the Hiwassee Dam which finished construction in 1940. Hiwassee Lake stretches along the river for approximately 22 mi to the town of Murphy, North Carolina. It has 180 mi of shoreline, a storage capacity of 434000 acre feet, and 205590 acre feet of flood storage.

Hiwassee Lake is 6000 acre. Its tailwaters are part of Apalachia Lake. The reservoir's operating level varies by roughly 38 ft in a typical year. The southwestern arm of the reservoir over Persimmon Creek is known as Persimmon Lake. It reaches to a smaller dam which contains Cherokee Lake. The Nottely River also flows into Hiwassee Lake from North Georgia.

History
Hiwassee Lake is named after the Hiwassee River. Two 18th century Cherokee towns along the river were named Hiwassee. The river's name comes from the Cherokee word for large meadow, or savanna.

The Tennessee Valley Authority started work creating Hiwassee Lake in 1936. The reservoir was completed in 1940.

The U.S. Navy tested torpedos in Hiwassee Lake in 1942 during World War II. The lake was chosen due to its isolation and its depth – more than 250 ft in places. The Navy Bureau of Ordnance installed a launcher, net, and underwater camera. Torpedos sometimes landed in nearby farmland as the net didn't always work.

Bear Paw Resort opened on the lake in 1973.