Lake Kaweah

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Lake Kaweah is a lake near Lemon Cove in Tulare County, California. The lake is formed by Terminus Dam on the Kaweah River. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada mountains and drains about 560 square miles (1,500 km²) into Lake Kaweah. From Lake Kaweah, the river passes near the city of Visalia as it flows west into the Tulare Lakebed. The lake has a capacity of 183,300 acre-feet (226,008,900 m³). Built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Terminus Dam was completed in 1962 to provide flood control and water for irrigation. A project to raise the lake 21 feet (6 m) was completed in 2004. The project included the construction of six 21-feet (6 m) tall fusegates in the spillway. The lake now impounds an additional 42,000 acre-feet (52,000,000 m³) of water and downstream flood protection to downstream communities and agricultural land has been increased.