Lake Ilsanjo
Encyclopedia
Lake Ilsanjo is a man-made lake
located in Annadel State Park
east of Santa Rosa
in Sonoma County, California
, United States
. It is a place for fishing and swimming, especially in the summer months. Entrepreneur Joe Coney originally owned the land that is now Annadel State Park and named the lake after his wife Ilsa and himself. Thus it came to be called Lake Ilsanjo. It drains into Spring Creek
.
The lake is formed by a dam constructed in the 1950s. Originally the overflow drained to a gully during the winter months, but in 2003, the state
spent almost $400,000 building a spillway and release valve to reduce downstream erosion. During the winter of 2007-08, park officials accidentally left the release valve open, causing the lake level to drop far below normal, exposing mudflats that would normally be underwater.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
located in Annadel State Park
Annadel State Park
Annadel State Park is a state park of California, USA, situated at the northern edge of Sonoma Valley and offering many recreational activities within its property...
east of Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
in Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a place for fishing and swimming, especially in the summer months. Entrepreneur Joe Coney originally owned the land that is now Annadel State Park and named the lake after his wife Ilsa and himself. Thus it came to be called Lake Ilsanjo. It drains into Spring Creek
Spring Creek (Sonoma County, California)
Spring Creek, in Sonoma County, California, is a stream that rises in the northern part of the Sonoma Mountains within Annadel State Park, draining the western slopes of Taylor Mountain and feeding into Matanzas Creek below the Matanzas Creek Reservoir....
.
The lake is formed by a dam constructed in the 1950s. Originally the overflow drained to a gully during the winter months, but in 2003, the state
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
spent almost $400,000 building a spillway and release valve to reduce downstream erosion. During the winter of 2007-08, park officials accidentally left the release valve open, causing the lake level to drop far below normal, exposing mudflats that would normally be underwater.