Water Resources -- Dams and Reservoirs


Return to the Water Subject Page.
Return to the Images of the California Environment page.

Click on an image to see a larger version.


Auburn Dam, if it is ever built, will probably be the last large dam in California.
site of Auburn Dam, near Auburn, CA (1987).


Proposals to build a dam here generated controversy.
EBMUD watershed, near Castro Valley, CA (1990).


It seems to be a natural human instinct to dam up streams.
Garrapata Beach, Garrapata SP, near Carmel Highlands, CA (1992).


This dam blocks the Tuolumne River and floods Hetch-Hetchy Valley.
O'Shaugnessy Dam, Tuolumne River, Yosemite NP, CA (1981).


The Eel River is partly diverted into the Russian River by this small dam.
Van Arsdale Dam, Eel River, near Potter Valley, CA (1991).


Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir stores water for the San Francisco system.
Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir, Yosemite NP, CA (1984).


During prolonged droughts even the most massive reservoirs are substantially drawn down.
South Fork arm of Lake Oroville, CA (1988).


The water to fill this reservoir is brought by pipeline almost a hundred miles from the Sierra.
San Pablo Reservoir, near Orinda, CA (1990).


One of the first big water storage projects in the west, Shasta Dam blocks the Sacramento, McCloud, and Pit Rivers.
Shasta Dam overlook, CA (1983).


Though it is a natural lake, Tahoe's surface level can be raised and lowered about twenty feet by this control structure.
Truckee River control structure, Tahoe City, CA (1985).


Go to the next topic: Water Resources -- Aqueducts, Ditches, and Diversions