Shasta Lake
Encyclopedia
Shasta Lake, also called Lake Shasta, is an artificial lake created by the construction of Shasta Dam
across the Sacramento River
in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
of Shasta County, California
. With a capacity of 4552000 acre.ft at full pool, the lake has an elevation
of 1067 feet (325.2 m), and a surface area
of 30000 acre (12,140.6 ha), making it the state's largest reservoir, and its third largest body of water after Lake Tahoe
and the Salton Sea
.
Ten miles (16 km) north of the city of Redding
, with the town of Lakehead
its northern shores, Shasta Lake is popular for boating
, water skiing
, camping, house boating, and fishing. Formed by the damming of the Sacramento River
, Pit River
, McCloud River
and several smaller tributaries, the lake has 365 mi (587.4 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita
. The maximum depth is 517 feet (157.6 m).
Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945, while the lake was formed in 1948. It became the second largest dam, and tallest concrete dam in the United States. Known as the keystone of the Central Valley Project
, outflow from Shasta Dam provides electricity
and irrigation
for widespread areas of California below the dam
as well as flood control for the Sacramento River during the rainy season. Beneath the lake is the submerged town of Kennett
, defunct tunnels and right of way of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, parts of which can be seen when the water level is low.
Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam is an arch dam across the Sacramento River in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, at the north end of the Sacramento Valley. The dam mainly serves long-term water storage and flood control in its reservoir, Shasta Lake, and also generates hydroelectric power...
across the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the United States Forest Service. The 2.2-million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of...
of Shasta County, California
Shasta County, California
Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...
. With a capacity of 4552000 acre.ft at full pool, the lake has an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 1067 feet (325.2 m), and a surface area
Surface area
Surface area is the measure of how much exposed area a solid object has, expressed in square units. Mathematical description of the surface area is considerably more involved than the definition of arc length of a curve. For polyhedra the surface area is the sum of the areas of its faces...
of 30000 acre (12,140.6 ha), making it the state's largest reservoir, and its third largest body of water after Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
and the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
.
Ten miles (16 km) north of the city of Redding
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
, with the town of Lakehead
Lakehead-Lakeshore, California
Lakehead-Lakeshore is a census-designated place in Shasta County, California, United States. The population was 549 at the 2000 census. It is a very seasonal town with many Shasta Lake services, including a small grocery store, Subway restaurant inside the Shell gas station, and low-cost lodging...
its northern shores, Shasta Lake is popular for boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
, water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
, camping, house boating, and fishing. Formed by the damming of the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, Pit River
Pit River
The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S...
, McCloud River
McCloud River
The McCloud River is a river that flows east of and parallel to the Sacramento River, long, in northern California in the United States. It drains a scenic mountainous area of the Cascade Range north of Redding...
and several smaller tributaries, the lake has 365 mi (587.4 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
. The maximum depth is 517 feet (157.6 m).
Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945, while the lake was formed in 1948. It became the second largest dam, and tallest concrete dam in the United States. Known as the keystone of the Central Valley Project
Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project is a Bureau of Reclamation federal water project in the U.S. state of California. It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation and municipal water to much of California's Central Valley—by regulating and storing water in reservoirs in the water-rich northern...
, outflow from Shasta Dam provides electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
for widespread areas of California below the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
as well as flood control for the Sacramento River during the rainy season. Beneath the lake is the submerged town of Kennett
Kennett, California
Kennett was an important mining town in Northern California until it was flooded by Shasta Lake while Shasta Dam was being constructed. Kennett is submerged under approximately 400 ft. of water...
, defunct tunnels and right of way of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, parts of which can be seen when the water level is low.