Terminus Dam
Encyclopedia
Terminus Dam is a dam on the Kaweah River
, which serves to form Lake Kaweah
.
The dam provides irrigation and municipal water supply, and as a result, the Kaweah River below the dam is usually regulated for a stable flow year round. The South Fork and the mainstem of the Kaweah both flow into the reservoir and the North Fork joins a short distance upstream. The dam is about 20 miles (32.2 km) east of Visalia, California
, and faces California's Central Valley.
The earthfill dam is 130 feet (39.6 m) high and approximately 870 feet (265.2 m) long, and can control up to a 1,000 year flood. The dam lies alongside California State Route 198
, just before it enters Sequoia National Park
.
Built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
, Terminus Dam was completed in 1962 to provide flood control and water for irrigation. A project to raise the lake 21 feet (6 m) was completed in 2004. The project included the construction of six 21-foot (6 m)-tall fusegates in the spillway.
Kaweah River
The Kaweah River in the U.S. state of California flows westward from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. It rises in forks in the southern Sierra Nevada inside Sequoia National Park, the longest of which is the Middle Fork, about long...
, which serves to form Lake Kaweah
Lake Kaweah
Lake Kaweah is a reservoir near Lemon Cove in Tulare County, California. The lake is formed by Terminus Dam on the Kaweah River. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada mountains and drains about into Lake Kaweah. From Lake Kaweah, the river passes near the city of Visalia as it flows west into...
.
The dam provides irrigation and municipal water supply, and as a result, the Kaweah River below the dam is usually regulated for a stable flow year round. The South Fork and the mainstem of the Kaweah both flow into the reservoir and the North Fork joins a short distance upstream. The dam is about 20 miles (32.2 km) east of Visalia, California
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
, and faces California's Central Valley.
The earthfill dam is 130 feet (39.6 m) high and approximately 870 feet (265.2 m) long, and can control up to a 1,000 year flood. The dam lies alongside California State Route 198
California State Route 198
State Route 198 is an east–west state highway that connects the California Central Coast to the mid-Central Valley at Visalia, although the most-traveled portion is in the Central Valley itself....
, just before it enters Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the...
.
Built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
, Terminus Dam was completed in 1962 to provide flood control and water for irrigation. A project to raise the lake 21 feet (6 m) was completed in 2004. The project included the construction of six 21-foot (6 m)-tall fusegates in the spillway.