How many dams do you think are on Lake Lanier, not counting beaver dams?
Buford Dam is the main structure, of course, blocking the Chattahoochee River and backing up all the water you enjoy today, but it’s actually a whole system of dam and saddle dikes (a type of levee), the Corps of Engineers points out.
“Normally, dikes serve a slightly different purpose to dams, but in the case of Buford Dam and its three saddle dikes, all four structures share the same task: to block the flow of water and create a storage reservoir,” the Corps continues. “Many people may not even notice they’re driving across two of the saddle dikes every day!”
Together, the saddle dikes work as a team with Buford Dam. So, you could say Lake Lanier has at least four dams (five if you count Knickerbocker), or at least one big one put together. If we ask the beavers, the number of dams on the lake even changes over time thanks to their timber engineering.
Have you ever come across a beaver dam? The Corps says some of its people have seen several small ones on the Laurel Ridge Trail.