Lake Keowee is a reservoir created by Keowee Dam and
Little River Dam. It impounds the
Keowee River and the
Little River, each of which exits through its respective
dam. The two rivers join just below the dams and their
confluence forms the
Seneca River, a tributary of the
Savannah River. Lake Keowee is used as cooling water for
three nuclear reactors located at the
Oconee Nuclear Generating Station which are owned by Duke
Energy Corporation. Water is also used for hydroelectic power
generation.
The Keowee River, now inundated by Lake Keowee, was the heart of the Cherokee Lower Towns region. The principal Lower Town, Keowee was on the bank of the river and gave both the river and the lake their names.
