The tallest dam east of the Rockies, built for the Manhattan Project.
Fontana Lake is a 10,230-acre TVA reservoir in the Great Smoky Mountains, held back by Fontana Dam — the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains at 480 feet, built between 1942 and 1944 to power Oak Ridge's Manhattan Project war effort.
Fontana Lake sits in the Great Smoky Mountains, 10,230 acres and 238 miles of shoreline created when the TVA built Fontana Dam between 1942 and 1944 — the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains, constructed to power the Manhattan Project's uranium enrichment at Oak Ridge. Fontana Village Resort, originally built to house the dam's construction workforce, is now the lake's commercial hub: Quill's Canteen, Mountview Restaurant, The Dam Coffee House, and Fontana Village Marina all sit at its center. Two free TVA boat ramps near Bryson City add public access. Bryson City, the Swain County seat, covers the grocery run and the hospital.
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