This is a view from the bridge where US 129 crosses the Little Tennessee River. The dam is about 750 feet long by 225 feet high. Five turbine/generator assemblies can generate 110 Megawatts at 8,095 cfs of flow.

Cheoah Dam was featured in the movie "The Fugitive". Remember Tommy Lee Jones walking down the pipe while they were searching the river? The powerhouse originally had four turbines. A fifth was added later, and is fed by the pipe from a converted floodgate. In this view you can just make out the two cranes that operate the floodgates in the middle left, along the top of the dam.

This is closeup of the intake for the fifth turbine.

The intake for the first four turbines is in the rock abutting the dam. This screen keeps trash out of the intake. The normal full pool of Cheoah Lake is 1276.8 feet of elevation.

The 19 floodgates do not have permanently dedicated cranes like you see at most TVA dams. Instead, two cranes are attached to two floodgates near the center of the dam, and can be controlled remotely from the control center. If more than two floodgates are needed, some poor soul has to go to the dam and move the cranes (hopefully the storm will be over at that point!). There are two chains on each gate, and the collars around the chain will hold them in place. Here you can see the tracks the cranes move on, and one of the chains.

This is a view of the powerhouse...the switchyard is more or less behind the powerhouse.The structure above the powerhouse looks to be maintenance access to the penstocks to the original four turbines.