Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Flood control was one of the missions Congress assigned the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) when it created the TVA in 1933. In keeping with that mission, TVA built the Ken-
tucky Dam on the Tennessee River about 22 miles upstream from Paducah, Kentucky. The
dam, dedicated by U.S. president Harry Truman in 1945, created a reservoir 184 miles long
with a shoreline of 2,200 miles, making it one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.
Construction of the Bluestone Dam on West Virginia's New River began in 1942 but was in-
terrupted the following year because of World War II. Work resumed in 1946, and the dam
became operational in 1949. The dam cost approximately $30 million to build. When it cel-
ebrated the dam's 50th anniversary in 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated it
had prevented more than $1.6 billion in flood damages. (Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.)
