| Lake Berryessa | |
|---|---|
| Satellite photo | |
| Location | Napa County, California |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Primary outflows | Putah Creek[1] |
| Catchment area | 576 sq mi (1,490 km2)[1] |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 15.5 mi (24.9 km)[2] |
| Max. width | 3 mi (4.8 km) |
| Surface area | 20,700 acres (8,400 ha)[1] |
| Max. depth | 275 ft (84 m) |
| Water volume | 1,602,000 acre·ft (1.976 km3)[1] |
| Shore length1 | 165 mi (266 km) |
| Surface elevation | 213 ft (65 m)[2] |
| References | [1][2] |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir is formed by the Monticello Dam, which provides water and hydroelectricity to the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The lake was named for the first European settlers in the Berryessa Valley, José Jesús and Sexto "Sisto" Berrelleza (a Basque surname, Anglicized to Berreyesa then later respelled Berryessa), who were granted Rancho Las Putas in 1843.
Prior to its inundation, the valley was an agricultural region, whose soils were considered among the finest in the country. The main town in the valley, Monticello, was abandoned in order to construct the reservoir. This abandonment was chronicled by the photographers Dorothea Lange and Pirkle Jones in their book Death of a Valley. Construction of Monticello Dam was begun in 1953,[3] and the reservoir filled by 1963, creating what at the time was the second-largest reservoir in California after Shasta Lake.
The lake is heavily used for recreational purposes and encompases over 20,000 acres (80 km²) when full. The reservoir is approximately 15.5 miles (25 km) long, but only 3 miles (5 km) wide. It has approximately 165 miles (265 km) of shoreline. It has a seaplane landing area that is open to the public. One of the larger islands supported a small plane landing area, but was closed in the early 1970s after the FAA issued a safety report.
Near the dam on the southeast side of the reservoir is an open bell-mouth spillway, 72 feet (22 m) in diameter.
The area was also the site of one of the infamous Zodiac Killer's murders.
Contents |
The lake is fed by the head waters to the 576 square mile (1,490 km²) Putah Creek watershed. It has a storage capacity of 1,602,000 acre feet (1.976×109 m3), making it one of the larger reservoirs in California.
Though the land behind the Monticello Dam is in Napa County, the water contained above is essentially owned by Solano County. The water is used for hydroelectric and agricultural purposes outside of Napa County, CA.
The National Weather Service has maintained a cooperative weather station at the lake since November 1, 1957. Records show that the area has hot, mostly dry summers and cool, wet winters. Normal January temperatures are a maximum of 57.7 °F (14.3 °C) and a minimum of 36.1 °F (2.3 °C). Normal July temperatures are a maximum of 93.8 °F (34.3 °C) and a minimum of 57.3 °F (14.1 °C). There an average of 80.1 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 28.0 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower.
The record high temperature was 115 °F (46 °C) on July 24, 2006. The record low temperature was 13 °F (−11 °C) on December 22, 1990.
The wettest year was 1983 with 56.94 inches (1,446 mm) and the driest year was 1976 with 7.78 inches (198 mm). The most precipitation in one month was 21.33 inches (542 mm) in January 1995. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 5.29 inches (134 mm) on December 31, 2005. Snowfall is very rare, but 0.4 inches (10 mm) fell in January 1974.[4]
Popular activities include waterskiing, jet skiing, pleasure boating, kayaking and canoeing, hiking, road bicycling, motorcycle pleasure biking, birding, wildlife observation, picnicking, and swimming.
Lake Berryessa is a swimming and water skiing site for enthusiasts. The narrow portion of the reservoir, nearest to the Monticello Dam, is referred to as the "Narrows," and is sometimes busy with boaters on holidays and weekends.
There are several resorts with marinas at the lake, as well as nearby Lake Solano County Park located west of Winters, California. Day use areas include Oak Shores and Smittle Creek. There are swimming areas closed to boats and other watercraft, as well as several hiking trails.
Adjoining the Lake Berryessa Recreational Area is the recently designated Cedar Roughs Wilderness. The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act of 2006 set aside the former study area of 6,350 acres (25.7 km2) located 1.8 miles (2.9 km) past Pope Creek bridge on the Pope Creek arm of Lake Berryessa. The wilderness can be accessed by car or boat, although there are no maintained trails (as yet). Hiking can be difficult as more than half of the wilderness consists of Sargent's cypress, which covers 3,000 acres (12 km2) and is relatively pure genetically. It is the second most widely distributed cypress in California, and was named for Charles Sprague Sargent (1841–1927), the founder and director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum and author of the 14-volume Silva of North America. The area is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and California Department of Fish and Game.[5]
Notable plants in the area include sergeant cypress, white alder, leather oak, Jepson's navarretia, and Bridge's brodiaea.
Fish species in Lake Berryessa include bluegill, brown trout, channel catfish, chinook salmon, green sunfish, kokanee, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, spotted bass, white catfish Sacramento squawfish and landlocked steelhead. The introduced species of carp, is also present and feeds on organic matter, water snails, bloodworm, fresh water mussels as well as their own eggs.[6]
The east side of the lake has a 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) Wildlife Management Area that protects wildlife habitats for such species as mountain lion, black-tailed deer, western rattlesnake, raccoon, skunk, osprey and golden eagle.