The Tallulah Gorge is a gorge formed by the Tallulah River cutting through the Tallulah Dome rock formation. The gorge is approximately 2 miles (3 km) long and almost 1,000 feet (300 m) deep. The Tallulah Gorge is located next to the town of Tallulah Falls, Georgia . Tallulah Gorge State Park protects much of the gorge and its waterfalls. The gorge is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia .
11-426: Just above the falls is Tallulah Falls Lake , created in 1913 by a hydroelectric dam built by Georgia Railway and Power (now Georgia Power ) in order to run Atlanta 's streetcars. The dam still collects and redirects most of the water via a 6,666-foot (2,032 m) tunnel sluice or penstock around the falls to a 72 MW hydropower electricity generation station downstream that is 608 feet (185 m) lower than
22-444: Is 11 feet (3.4 m) wide, 14 feet (4.3 m) high, and 6,666 feet (2,032 m) long and was tunneled through solid rock and then lined with concrete. The dam is 126 feet (38 m) high and has a span of 426 feet (130 m). The Tallulah Falls Hydroelectric Plant is located 608 feet (185 m) lower than the dam at the lower end of the tunnel and has a generation capacity of 72,000 kilowatts . Lake Seed Seed Lake
33-537: Is a 240 acres (97 ha) reservoir with 13 miles (21 km) of shoreline located in Rabun County , in the northeastern corner of Georgia , United States. It is the second lake in a series of six lakes that follow the original riverbed of the Tallulah River . Each lake in the chain is created by hydroelectric dams operated by Georgia Power . Lake Seed is sandwiched between the northernmost lake in
44-541: Is a rock formation caused by the double folding of the Earth's crust during the formation of Pangaea , about 500 to 250 million years ago. The dome is made up of mostly quartzite along with schist . Because of the variation in sunlight, shade, and moisture caused by the steep cliffs, several different ecosystems exist in and around the canyon -like gorge. The persistent trillium , an endangered species of trillium , grows in this river basin and only few other parts of
55-609: The South Carolina /Georgia area. 34°43′30″N 83°22′13″W / 34.72500°N 83.37028°W / 34.72500; -83.37028 Tallulah Falls Lake Tallulah Falls Lake is a 63-acre (250,000 m ) reservoir with 3.6 miles (5.8 km) of shoreline located in the Northeastern corner of Georgia in Rabun County . It is the fourth and smallest lake in a six-lake series created by hydroelectric dams operated by Georgia Power that follows
66-568: The dam was completed in 1913, the roar of the Tallulah Falls (the roar could be heard for miles from the gorge) was quieted, and tourism dwindled. The park was created by Georgia governor Zell Miller in cooperation with Georgia Power . Georgians have long assumed that Tallulah was a Cherokee word, given the prominence of Cherokee history in the state. The etymology of tallulah is unknown, not clearly matching either Cherokee or nearby Muscogean languages such as Creek . Tallulah Dome
77-486: The lake, except for a few days each year. The days when water is released are very popular for recreation, such as kayaking and whitewater rafting . Since the early 19th century, Tallulah Gorge and its waterfalls have been a tourist attraction. In 1882, Tallulah Falls Railway was built, increasing the accessibility of the area to tourists from Atlanta and south Georgia, and the gorge became North Georgia's first tourist attraction. Resort hotels and bars sprang up to serve
88-574: The original course of the Tallulah River . The series starts upstream on the Tallulah River with Lake Burton followed by Lake Seed , Lake Rabun , Tallulah Falls Lake, Lake Tugalo and Lake Yonah . Georgia Power considers the lake full at a surface elevation of 1,500 feet (460 m). Tallulah Falls Lake was formed in 1914 with the completion of the Tallulah Falls Dam, a concrete dam with diversion tunnel. The diversion tunnel
99-476: The series, Lake Burton , and Lake Rabun . Lake Rabun is followed by Lake Tallulah Falls , Lake Tugalo , and Lake Yonah . The reservoir elevation is listed as 1,765 feet (538 m) on topographic maps, but Georgia Power considers the lake full at an elevation of 1,752.5 feet (534.2 m). Seed Lake was formed in 1927 with the completion of the Nacoochee Dam, a gravity concrete and masonry dam that
110-427: The tourist trade which, after the addition of the railway, swelled to as many as 2,000 people on any given Sunday. In 1883, tightrope walker Professor Bachman crossed the gorge as part of a publicity stunt for one hotel. On July 18, 1970, Karl Wallenda became the second man to walk across the gorge on a tightrope. In the 1910s, Georgia Railway and Power began building dams on the river. The town of Burton, Georgia ,
121-493: Was purchased and flooded as Lake Burton in 1919. Many area residents opposed the dams, including the widow of Confederate general James Longstreet , Helen Dortch Longstreet , who led a campaign in 1911 to have Tallulah Gorge protected by the state. The Georgia Assembly was unable to raise the $ 1 million required to purchase the gorge; Longstreet's unsuccessful campaign was one of the first conservation movements in Georgia. When
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