Pickwick Landing

Pickwick Landing

Pickwick Landing Dam is a significant producer of hydroelectric power. It has six generating units with a net dependable capacity of 247 megawatts. The dam has two locks: One measures 110-by-600 feet and the other 110-by-1,000 feet.

ir is located in southwest Tennessee. It extends 53 miles south from the dam along the Mississippi-Alabama state line and then east into Alabama. The dam was completed in 1938, and the first two of its six hydroelectric generating units began operation the same year.

Pickwick Landing Dam is a significant producer of hydroelectric power. It provides a flat pool of water that extends eastward to Wilson Dam in Alabama and covers a portion of the treacherous Muscle Shoals, which once hampered navigation on the Tennessee River.

Pickwick Reservoir has excellent sport-fishing areas, including the Wilson Dam tailwater at the upper end of the reservoir, noted for record-size smallmouth bass and catfish.

Pickwick is also popular for boating and water skiing. A large campground is located below the dam and includes 92 sites with water and electric (five are accessible sites) and eight tent sites without utilities.

Pickwick: Facts & Figures

  • Construction of Pickwick Landing Dam began in 1934 and was completed in 1938.     
  • The dam is 113 feet high and stretches nearly a mile and a half across the Tennessee River.
  • Pickwick Dam is a hydroelectric facility. It has six generating units with a summer net dependable capacity of 247 megawatts. Net dependable capacity is the amount of power a dam can produce on an average day, minus the electricity used by the dam itself.
  • When Pickwick Reservoir is full during the summer, it has nearly 490 miles of winding shoreline and 43,100 acres of water surface.
  • Pickwick has a flood-storage capacity of 492,700 acre-feet.
  • To maintain the water depth required for navigation, the minimum winter elevation for the reservoir is 408 feet. The typical summer operating range is between 413 and 414 feet.             
  • The dam has two locks: One measures 110-by-600 feet and the other 110-by-1,000 feet.
  • Pickwick Landing Dam’s first turbine was the largest of its kind in the country when it was installed; its runner was more than 24 feet in diameter. New runners with a more efficient design were installed in the 1980s.   
  • Find Pickwick Landing Dam on TN Hwy. 128 S. in Pickwick, Tenn.  

More Information on Pickwick Reservoir

Daily Lake Level

Sport Fish Survey Results

Ecological Health Ratings

Recreation Facilities

Built for the People

The Unified Development of the Tennessee River plan stressed TVA was to provide flood control, navigation and electricity for the region. TVA’s dams are tangible evidence of its primary mission: improving life in the Tennessee Valley. We’re celebrating the plan with an in-depth look at 32 of the dams it comprises.

TVA Begins Prep Work for Construction at Pickwick

TVA is beginning exploratory work this week (February 22, 2017) at Pickwick Landing Dam in preparation for upcoming construction to fortify the dam against potential impacts from a severe earthquake. Read more about the Pickwick project.

The Lost Towns of Pickwick

TVA's dams transformed the Valley and made life easier for its residents. For some, though, the unified plan meant sacrificing home and community to the greater good. In the case of Pickwick Landing Dam, the small Alabama towns of Waterloo and Riverton were inundated. Read more about these two lost towns.