Lake Strom Thurmond, officially designated J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir at the federal level, and Clarks Hill Lake by the state of Georgia, is a man-made reservoir at the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina in the Savannah River Basin.
Sunset on the Georgia side of Lake Strom Thurmond (Clarks Hill Lake), April 2006
The J. Strom Thurmond Dam, as seen from the fishing pier below, September 2007
J. Strom Thurmond Dam, also known in Georgia as Clarks Hill Dam, is a concrete-gravity and embankment dam located 22 miles (35 km) north of Augusta, Georgia on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Lake Strom Thurmond. U.S. Route 221 cross it. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1946 and 1954 for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectricity and downstream navigation. The concrete structure of the dam spans 1,096 feet (334 m) and rises 204 feet (62 m) above the riverbed, housing a power plant with an installed 380 MW capacity. The Dam has prevented over $3.1 million in estimated flood damage annually and also provides recreation, water quality, water supply, along with fish and wildlife management.
J. Strom Thurmond Dam
Power plant