Folsom Lake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Folsom Lake is a large lake in Northern California about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento. The lake is formed by Folsom Dam on the American River. The lake is the intersection of three counties. The dam and some of the southern half of the lake is in Sacramento County. The rest of the lake is split between Placer County on the west and El Dorado on the east. Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam, which depends on its weight to hold back the lake. It is 340 feet high and was completed in 1955. The dam was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, but after completion it was transferred to the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The dam and lake are part of the Central Valley Project, a multipurpose project that provides flood control, hydroelectricity, drinking water and water for irrigation.
Folsom Power Plant is located at the base of the dam. It has three Francis turbines with a combined capacity is 199 MW. The power plant's electricity production is intermediate, between peaking and base load. It operates during the day, when the demand and price for electricity is the highest.
[edit] References
- Keep Folsom Brown - Alliance to Save Folsom Lake - Conservation Group
- Folsom Lake Directory on MyFolsom.com
- United States Bureau of Reclamation - Folsom Power Plant
- United States Bureau of Reclamation - Central Valley Project
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or MapQuest
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
