Lakes / Tennessee / Carter County / Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake, Tennessee
6,353 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - Tennessee
36.33 degrees N, 82.03 degrees W - Carter County. State and county outlines drawn from Census boundary data; the lake marker is placed by its USGS National Hydrography Dataset coordinates, not by eye. Schematic - not a survey map.
How Watauga Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 93% of the 249 lakes counted in Tennessee.
- The largest lake in Carter County among those counted.
- About 93 miles from Gatlinburg, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilbur Lake | Carter | 5.3 mi | 56 acres |
| Ripshin Lake | Carter | 12 mi | 59 acres |
| South Holston Lake | Sullivan | 16 mi | 7,486 acres |
| Steele Creek Park Lake | Sullivan | 20 mi | 54 acres |
| Boone Lake | Washington | 21 mi | 2,005 acres |
| Boone Lake | Sullivan | 21 mi | 2,224 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Watauga Lake
How Big Is Watauga Lake?
Watauga Lake covers 6,353 acres in Carter County, Tennessee.
What Is the Largest Lake in Carter County?
Watauga Lake is the largest lake in Carter County, at 6,353 acres.
Largest Lakes in Tennessee
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky Lake | Henry | 144,085 acres | - |
| 2 | Watts Bar Lake | Roane | 33,441 acres | - |
| 3 | Cherokee Lake | Hamblen | 29,436 acres | - |
| 4 | Douglas Lake | Jefferson | 29,224 acres | - |
| 5 | Chickamauga Lake | Hamilton | 27,237 acres | - |
All 249 Tennessee lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS NHD (The National Map NHD MapServer layer 12) named waterbodies FTYPE 390/436; counties via Census point-in-polygon lake data (ID 89956533). Verified October 30, 2026.