French Lake Reservoir

Not to be confused with French Meadows Reservoir.
French Lake

French Lake Reservoir (National ID # CA00247) is a reservoir in Nevada County, California.

The earthen, rock-fill French Lake Dam was first constructed in 1859, and is a candidate for the first use of rock-fill in an engineered dam.[1] Reconstructed in 1948, it impounds Canyon Creek for flood control, irrigation water storage, municipal drinking water, and hydropower. The dam is 100 feet (30 m) high, with a length of 300 feet (91 m) at its crest.[2] It is one of ten facilities operated by Nevada Irrigation District.

The reservoir has a surface area of 337 acres (136 ha) and a maximum capacity of 13,800 acre feet (17,000,000 m3). The site is surrounded by Tahoe National Forest. The adjacent namesake townsite of French Lake, California is a ghost town of the California Gold Rush era.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Volume 92, page 135
  2. ↑ http://findlakes.com/main.php?french%20lake

Coordinates: 39°25′15″N 120°32′32″W / 39.420700°N 120.542248°W