[2][3] Silt loam, slate, and red clay are commonly found in the basin and surrounding shoreline of Cherokee Lake.

[4] Black bass, sauger, walleye, crappie, various sunfish, and the usual rough-fish species, are often found in the reservoir.

[5] From 1940 to 1942, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began purchasing property and performing acquisitions by eminent domain in the communities of Jefferson City in Jefferson County, and Bean Station in Grainger County, for the construction of Cherokee Dam and the impounding of the Holston River for Cherokee Lake.

Many residents, at first in refusal, would reluctantly give up their farms and homes for the promise of flood control and electricity offered by the TVA.

[9] Since the lake has a greater fish density than most reservoirs maintained by the TVA, it has become one of the most popular for anglers in the East Tennessee region.