Big Reservoir - Placer County, California

Visited 01/21/2018 – Jeff and I loaded up our two dogs, Summer and Skye and took a nice Sunday drive up to the Sierra Foothills in our Jeep Wrangler.  Just above Big and Sugar Pine Reservoir we encountered lots of snow from the recent storms.  Even though we did not have chains, we kicked it into 4 wheel drive and did just fine navigating the snow packed roads.  Big Reservoir in heavily wooded forest was hard to get to because they close all the access roads that link Sugar Pine to Big Reservoir during the winter months.  We traveled to the east and went down Elliott Ranch Road.  The Jeep was covered in mud and we had the hardest time finding the lake.  Big Reservoir, also known as Morning Star Lake is not really big at all with just 54 acres in size.  This lake is just to the east 2 miles from Sugar Pine Reservoir and 9 miles north of the town of Forest Hill, California in the Tahoe National Forest at an elevation of 4,042 feet above sea level.

Dirty Jeep from the muddy roads to get to Big Reservoir just down the road.

We took a break from the white knuckle driving on the snow packed roads to enjoy the view of the Sierra Mountains topped with snow.  The dogs enjoyed playing in the white stuff!

French Meadows Reservoir - Placer County, California

Visited 01/21/2018 – Jeff and I loaded up our two dogs, Summer and Skye and took a nice Sunday drive up to the Sierra Foothills in our Jeep Wrangler.  Just above Sugar Pine Reservoir we encountered lots of snow from the recent storms.  Even though we did not have chains, we kicked it into 4 wheel drive and did just fine navigating the snow packed roads.  Our final destination, French Meadows Reservoir was hard to get to and after a very long drive on 33 miles of Mosquito Ridge Road twisting and turning along the canyon wall road we finally made it to this beautiful reservoir right before sunset around 5 pm.  We found this beautiful, peaceful lake with it's shoreline covered in snow.  French Meadows Reservoir is a 1,344 acre manmade lake 36 miles northeast of Foresthill, California on the Middle Fork of the American River. The reservoir is 2.9 miles long, 0.6-mile wide, with 7.3 miles of shoreline.

Tahoe National Forest manages the recreational facilities which include five campgrounds, two group campgrounds and two paved boat launch ramps. Activities at the lake include powerboating, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, picnicking and hiking. The reservoir is entirely within a state game refuge so no firearms, pellet guns or archery weapons are allowed.  The elevation of the lake is 5,263 feet and is nine miles from the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

The reservoir was built in December 1964 with the construction on the Middle Fork of the American River of the L.L. Anderson Dam. The dam is rock-fill with earth core.  French Meadows Reservoir is part of the Middle Fork Project for hydroelectric power generation and most of its water is diverted to the French Meadows Powerhouse, located along the north shore of Hell Hole Reservoir, by an underground tunnel. Releases from French Meadows Reservoir to the powerhouse began one year later, December 13, 1965. A minimal "fish flow" is released into the natural waterway of the Middle Fork American river for fish and wildlife habitat considerations. The project is operated by the Placer County Water Agency.

On the way up Mosquito Ridge Road we stopped in the middle of a bridge and took this beautiful picture of this snow covered creek.  I did not alter the picture, it almost looks like it was a black and white photo, but it is actually around 5 pm in the evening and the fog was just hovering above us.  Picture perfect, Christmas card collection!

Sugar Pine Reservoir - Placer County, California

Visited 01/21/2018 – Jeff and I loaded up our two dogs, Summer and Skye and took a nice Sunday drive up to the Sierra Foothills in our Jeep Wrangler.  Just above Sugar Pine Reservoir we encountered lots of snow from the recent storms.  Even though we did not have chains, we kicked it into 4 wheel drive and did just fine navigating the snow packed roads.  Sugar Pine Reservoir is 165 acres in size at an elevation of 3,609 feet above sea level.  This reservoir is located approximately 7 miles north of Foresthill. The reservoir was flooded in 1982, and today supplies water to the community of Foresthill and hosts a number of recreation facilities.

The reservoir was created in 1982 with the construction of Sugar Pine Dam over North Shirttail Creek, a tributary of the North Fork American River, as part of the Auburn-Folsom South Unit of the Central Valley Project.  Although Sugar Pine Dam was funded through the Central Valley Project, it was never integrated into the project operationally, as it was intended to work with the never-completed Auburn Dam.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), during the 1987–1992 California drought the reservoir performed well, filling and spilling and meeting its water obligations each year but one.  In 2003, the community of Foresthill purchased Sugar Pine Reservoir, Sugar Pine Dam, and its conveyance system from the USBR for $3.1 million.  As of 2012^[update], the Foresthill Public Utility District provides water to 1,875 homes and 75 businesses in and around Foresthill.

 

Oxbow Reservior - El Dorado & Placer County, California

Visited 01/21/2018 – Jeff and I loaded up our two dogs, Summer and Skye and took a nice Sunday drive up to the Sierra Foothills in our Jeep Wrangler.  Just above Sugar Pine Reservoir we encountered lots of snow from the recent storms.  Even though we did not have chains, we kicked it into 4 wheel drive and did just fine navigating the snow packed roads.  After we played in the snow on Forest Hill Road near Robinson Flat we traveled back down the hill to Forest Hill and proceeded down the canyon to Oxbow Reservoir.  Oxbow Reservoir is located at the bottom of canyon on the middle fork of the American River just four miles south of town of Forest Hill.  It is a 7 acre reservoir at the elevation of 1,168 feet above sea level.  This reservoir is an artificially impounded body of water (lake, tank).  

Jeff and the dogs taking a stroll along the shoreline at Rubicon Ridge.

Whiskeytown Lake - Shasta County, California

Visited in September 2012 during a weekend camping/boating trip with our friends, Scott & Todd traveling up to Trinity Lake we drove by Whiskeytown Lake on our way up.  and we brought our dogs with us.  Located at an elevation of 1,214 feet above sea level is located 8 miles west of Redding, California heading into the Trinity National Forest area.

Whiskeytown Lake is a reservoir is 3,220 acres and is formed by Whiskeytown Dam on Clear Creek.  Additional water comes from Lewiston Reservoir, supplied by the Trinity River, via the Clear Creek Tunnel, which comes from the bottom of Lewiston Lake.  Whiskeytown is favored by locals because of the 30 ft visibility of its waters, and wildlife that surround the lake. There are numerous breeding pairs of bald eagles that nest on the lake's shores. Sharing the habitat are black bears, mountain lions, blacktail deer, turtles and raccoons, among other wildlife. It is mandated that the lake be at full capacity by Memorial Day, and remain full until Labor Day.  Whiskeytown Dam, an earth-fill embankment dam, is 263 feet, and was completed in 1963. It is owned and operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Its purpose is to provide flood control, water for irrigation, and electricity generation.
 
Before entering the lake, the water generates hydroelectricity at the 154 MW Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse. Whiskey Creek also empties into the lake. A large portion of the lake's water leaves through the Spring Creek Tunnel, which delivers the water to the 180-MW Spring Creek Powerhouse, whose tailrace empties into Keswick Reservoir. The 117-MW Keswick Powerhouse at Keswick Dam empties into the Sacramento River.

 

Murphy Lake - Sutter County, California

Visited on 1/19/2018 on a drive in our rural neighborhood just about 5 miles west of where we live in Elverta, California.  Murphy Lake is by far the closest lake on my list to visit from our home.  This lake is only seasonal and most times of the year it is completely dry, but we recently received a few inches of rainfall and I was able to find this remote lake amongst the farmlands and rice fields.  Located off of Howsley Road and Highway 99 north of Sacramento about 14 miles just north of the Sacramento International Airport.  This small lake, which is the only lake listed on the list for Sutter County, is at an elevation of 20 feet above sea level and the list does not list the size of the lake in acreage.  This picture was taken around 5 p.m. so the sun was setting in the west and it made for a great shot. 

Trinity Lake - Trinity County, California

Visited in September 2012 during a weekend camping/boating trip with our friends, Scott & Todd and we brought our dogs with us.  We camped in the Minersville campground on the west side of the lake in Camping Spot #07 with a great view of the lake and it is tucked back a little farther from other camping sites.  We have camped at this lake a couple of times over the years.   

Trinity Lake is a artificial lake on the Trinity River formed by Trinity Dam.  Trinity Lake is located northwest of Redding, California, off of Highway 299 north of the Gold Rush mining town of Weaverville.  The elevation of the lake is 2,370 feet above sea level and the lake is 16,535 acres large, making it one of the largest reservoirs in California.  Trinity Lake captures and stores water for the Central Valley Project, which provides the Central Valley with water for irrigation and produces hydroelectric power. This lake is known for its many small arms, glassy inlets, and great water-skiing conditions.
After the death in office of California United States Senator Clair Engle in 1964, the lake was renamed after him; however, the name change never received wide popularity, especially with locals, and the name was eventually returned to its frequently known original name.
  
The Alpine scenery surrounding the lake makes up the Trinity Alps. The Alps were formed in the late Jurassic Period by volcanic activity in the form of ultramafic and granitic plutons (igneous rock formed from super-heated magma cooling under the surface of the earth), and tectonic activity (the super continent of Pangaea was beginning to pull apart into two separate super-sized continents) and glaciation during frigid climate periods known as ice ages (land surface modified by action of glaciers).  The last remaining glaciers are on Thompson’s peak, at more than 9,000 feet. The lake bed was originally a series of deep valleys in the Alps.
 
The Discovery of Gold in 1848 prompted hundreds of miners to move into the area. Towns like Weaverville were born practically overnight. In 1958, a plan to divert water from Trinity River to California’s Central Valley led to the construction of Trinity Dam and the creation of Trinity Lake. This project was also designed to provide hydroelectric power to the local area. The Trinity River Division of the Central Valley Project came to fruition in 1961 with the completion of Trinity Dam. The lake was renamed Clair Engle Lake from 1964 to 1997. It was eventually renamed Trinity Lake. The lake was completely filled with water from the Trinity River by 1963 and is the third largest lake in California with 145 miles of shoreline. The area is known to have been inhabited by several Native American tribes, most notably the Yurok and Hoopa. Both tribes have reservation lands in the area to this day.

Jeff stoking the campfire at Minerville Campground Site # 07, one of favorite spots on the lake shore.

Jeff, me, Todd and Scott with our two dogs Star and Sadie at Trinity Lake enjoying the weekend camping by the lake.

Fun on Trinity Lake just boating around with Todd and Scott.

 

 

 

Diamond Valley Lake - Riverside County, California

Visited on 1/2/2018 during a trip to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area. 

Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made off-stream reservoir located near Hemet, California. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Southern California and also one of the newest. With 4,860 acre feet and at an elevation of 2,500 feet above sea level, the lake nearly doubled the area’s surface water storage capacity and provides additional water supplies for drought, peak summer, and emergency needs.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) began the $1.9 billion construction project in 1995. Filling of the lake, by way of the Colorado River Aqueduct, began in 1999 and was completed in 2003.  The lake is currently served by the Inland Feeder.  The lake features three earth fill dams, two located on either side of the valley and one on the north rim. Construction of the dams utilized nearby materials, and was one of the largest earthworks projects in the United States. Excavation of core materials for the dams resulted in many paleontological finds, all of which are displayed at the Western Science Center at the lake's East end. The lake is open to boating and fishing, along with hiking and other recreational activities around the lake.  

Diamond Valley Lake is located within the Domenigoni/Diamond valleys, between the Domenigoni Mountains and Rawson Mountains, 4 miles southwest of the city of Hemet. The site was chosen because of its location between the cities of San Diego and Los Angeles, and because of the raw materials located on-site for the construction of the three dams. The location was also chosen because of its proximity, about 5 miles, to the existing Colorado River Aqueduct that supplies the lake with water.

Lake Perris - Riverside County, California

Visited on 1/3/2018 during a trip to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area. 

Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973.  It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project, situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley and Perris, in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. The park offers a variety of recreational activities. Because of this and the lake's proximity to major population centers, it is very crowded during the summer months.  Lake Perris is 1,560 feet above sea level and is ringed by hills and small mountains. It impounds 2,340 acre feet of water behind a 2-mile long, 128 foot tall, chevron-shaped earthfill dam. The untended areas of Lake Perris may seem rocky and barren at first glance, but harbor a variety of natural wonders.  An artificial reef exists on the lake floor made of old tires. The reef was created to provide a habitat for fish.

Lake Perris has hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Rainy weather is limited almost completely to the months between November and April. The area lies at a crossroads of weather influences. Coastal fog (and smog) comes from the west, while "Santa Anas"—strong, hot dry winds—come from the deserts to the east and northeast. The average water temperature is 70 °F; during the summer months, it is bathwater-warm and very pleasant to swim in.

For several months following July 2005, the water in Lake Perris was drawn down by about 20 percent (about 24 feet) due to safety concerns with the dam. An extensive modern study concluded that the dam could be partially breached if a 7.5 magnitude or higher earthquake were to strike in the area. Heightening the engineers' fears was the fact that the San Jacinto Fault, easily capable of creating a 7.5 tremor, passes just a few miles north of the lake. It may take more than two years for the state to plan a course of action to bolster the dam.

The Los Angeles Olympic Bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games made an agreement with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the Lake to be host for competitive Canoe-Sprint and rowing competition when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics. The bid committee preferred Lake Perris to Lake Casitas as Lake Perris is near a larger population area and its close proximity to the University of California, Riverside. 

Lake Skinner - Riverside County, California

Visited on 1/2/2018 during a trip to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area. 

Skinner Reservoir, also known as Lake Skinner, is a reservoir in western Riverside County, located at the foot of Bachelor Mountain in the Auld Valley, approximately 10 miles northeast of Temecula.  It was created in 1973 by the construction of the Skinner Clearwell Dam (expanded 1991) on Tucalota Creek, and currently has a capacity of 44,200 acre feet.
 
Lake Skinner is supplied by the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project, and feeds the Robert A. Skinner filtration plant, which provides treated water to 2.5 million people in Riverside and San Diego Counties. It is named after Robert A. Skinner, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District from 1962 to 1967, who was instrumental in negotiating Metropolitan's contract with the California Department of Water Resources for delivery of water from Northern California.
Lake Skinner is a popular recreation area, featuring sailing, fishing, swimming (in an off-reservoir swimming area), horseback riding and hiking. The Lake Skinner recreational area includes 1,400 acres of surface water and 300 acres (1.2 km²) of lakeside parkland,features 158 RV sites and 300 developed campsites, and is the site of the annual Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival and the Solar Cup competition.
The reservoir was formed by construction of a dam on Tucalota Creek, along with two minor creeks named Middle Creek and Schoolhouse Creek.  Tucalota Creek below the reservoir flows to Santa Gertrudis Creek, then Murrieta Creek, then to the Santa Margarita River and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean.

 

Lake Elsinore - Riverside County, California

On 1/2/18 during a visit to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area.  This picture was taken on the east side of the lake near the sports arena.  Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named Laguna Grande by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for the town of Elsinore, now Lake Elsinore, established on its northeastern shore on April 9, 1888.

Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. With its own 750-mile watershed, it is situated at the lowest point within the San Jacinto River watershed of 750 square miles, at the terminus of the San Jacinto River. It is the terminal lake of a partially closed basin called the San Jacinto Basin.  Lake levels are healthy at an average of 1,244 feet above sea level with a volume of 3,000 acre⋅feet  that often fluctuates, although much has been done recently to prevent the lake from drying up, flooding, or becoming stagnant.  At 1,255 feet, the lake will spill into the outflow channel on its northeastern shore, known properly as Temescal Wash, flowing northwest through Temescal Canyon and feeding Alberhill Creek, which joins Temescal Creek, which in turn dumps into the Santa Ana River just northwest of Corona.

 

Lake Elsinore sits in a basin, the Elsinore Valley, a graben rift valley and part of the Elsinore Trough. It is the largest sag pond in the Elsinore Fault Zone. It lies beyond the northwestern extremity of the Temecula Valley, cut off from its Santa Margarita River watershed by a slight ridge running across the valley south of the lake between the Sedco Hills and the Elsinore Mountains to the west, part of the larger Santa Ana Mountain Range to the west and northwest of the valley.

On the west side of the lake are many small arroyos, such as the Lakeland Village Channel, which drains canyons whose source is on the east slope of the Elsinore Mountains. Lake Elsinore's northwestern shore rises to the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains and the saddle between them and the Clevelin Hills, which closely enclose the lake along its northeastern shore until they decline and end short near the shore of the Temescal Creek outlet from the lake that passes through downtown Lake Elsinore. Two of its larger tributaries come into the north shore of the lake from the Santa Ana Mountains, Leach Canyon Creek, and McVicker Canyon Creek.

The lake south of the Temescal Creek outlet lies in an open area at the mouth of its major tributary, the San Jacinto River, distantly bounded to the east by the Tuscany Hills and south of the river by the Sedco Hills both part of the range of the Temescal Mountains. Much of lake basin has been cut off from the lake and river by a flood-control levee, which only permits the isolated section to fill after an extremely large rainfall event raises the lake over the level of the overflow spillway, north of the baseball stadium.

 

Lake Elsinore was seen by the Spanish Franciscan padre Juan Santiago, exploring eastward from the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1797. In 1810, the water level of the Laguna Grande was first described by a traveler as being little more than a swamp about a mile long. Later in the early 19th century, the lake grew larger, providing Mexican rancheros, American trappers, the expedition of John C. Frémont, and the immigrants during the California Gold Rush a spot to camp and water their animals as they traveled along the southern shore of the lake on what later became the Southern Emigrant Trail and the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail. The lake and the Laguna Rancho adobe built near the lake on its southwest shore at its western corner was described by Benjamin Ignatius Hayes, who stayed there overnight on January 27–28, 1850:

In about 15 miles reach some timber where the hills approach near, apparently the termination of the valley of Temecula, a sort of low divide over which we enter into another valley. In both these is much good soil, although in the latter more of the wiry grass and more marshy, some little evergreen oak among the hills.
Come to the Laguna, two miles from the divide. Some good young grass, great deal of elder on its banks; as we rode along frequent flocks of geese rose from the shore; many shots at them; none brought down. The water of the Laguna is saltish, the animals cannot drink it; if they could, such a sheet of fresh water here would be invaluable to the owner of this land. As we were moving along the lake, an Indian overtook us, running as if to catch up with us; said he was from Temecula and going to the mines; had a little pinole tied up in a handkerchief; spoke Spanish, seemed disposed to be communicative.
At sunset the moon rises behind the snowy peaks to the eastward and is reflected on the lake. Wild sage; the lake has evidently once, near the house, been with a much broader basin. How is it supplied with water? Clover around it. The house is a substantial adobe. A small stream seems to enter it on the east. A low range of hills nearly surrounds the lake, higher where we are encamped on the southern side. The lake valley seems to be higher than that of Temecula. …Two or three men at this house; their wives seem to be Indians.
Road firm and good, gently ascending for a mile or more from the lake; then uneven, occasionally sandy, to Temescal.

As a result of the Great Flood of 1862, the level of the lake was very high, and the Union Army created a post at the lake to graze and water their horses. In the great 1862–65 drought, most of the cattle in Southern California died and the lake level fell, especially during 1866 and 1867, when practically no rain fell. However, the lake was full again in 1872, when it overflowed down its outlet through Temescal Canyon.
After 1872, the lake again evaporated to a very low level, but the great rains in the winter of 1883–84 filled it to overflowing in three weeks. Descriptions of the lake at this time say that large willow trees surrounding the former low-water shore line stood 20 ft (6.1 m) or more below the high-water level and were of such size that they must have been 30 or more years old. This indicated the high water of the 1860s and 1870s must have been of a very short duration.
The rainfall until 1893 was greater than normal, and the lake remained high and overflowed naturally on three or four occasions during that time. The lake water was purchased by the Temescal Water Company for the irrigation of land in Corona, California. Its outlet channel was deepened, permitting gravity flow down the natural channel of Temescal Canyon to Corona for a year or more after the water level sank below the natural elevation of its outlet. As the lake surface continued to recede, a pumping plant was installed, and pumping was continued a few seasons, but the concentration of salts in the lake, due to the evaporation and lack of rainfall, soon made the water unfit for irrigation, and the project was abandoned by the company.
After 1893, the lakes water level sank almost continuously for nearly 10 years, with a slight rise every winter. Heavier precipitation, beginning in 1903, gradually filled the lake to about half the depth above its minimum level since 1883. Then in January, 1916, a flood rapidly raised the level to overflowing.

The lake hosted teams for Olympic training and high-speed boat racing in the 1920s. The lake went dry in the mid-1930s, but refilled by 1938.

The lake ran dry during most of the 1950s and was refilled in the early 1960s. More than a week of heavy rains in 1980 flooded the lake, destroying surrounding homes and businesses. Since then, a multimillion dollar project has been put into place to maintain the water at a consistent level, allowing for homes to be built close to the lake. In 2007, an aeration system was added to prevent fish kills in the lake's ecosystem.

 

 

Lake Mathews - Riverside County, California

On 1/2/18 during a visit to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area.  This picture was taken on the southwest corner of the lake on the dam.  I startled a coyote that was resting against the dam wall when I walked up to take a picture.  Can you find him in the second photo?  Lake Mathews is a large 2,750 acre reservoir at the elevation of 1,391 feet in Riverside County, California is located in the Cajalco Canyon in the foothills of the Temescal Mountains.  It is the western terminus for the Colorado River Aqueduct that provides much of the water used by the cities and water districts of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The reservoir is fenced and closed to all public access. The lake is near the Riverside community of Lake Hills, and is skirted by Cajalco Road on the south, El Sobrante Road on the north and east, and La Sierra Avenue on the west. La Sierra Avenue traverses the top of the west dike. These roads are often used by commuters as a shortcut between Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 or California 91.
The reservoir was constructed by building a large earthfill dam across the northern side of the basin. Two smaller dams, called dikes, were built during the 1961 expansion to increase the lake's capacity.

Originally named the Cajalco Reservoir, the reservoir is now named after W.B. Mathews, an attorney who was a key architect of the MWD and its business relationships with member water agencies. Construction on the reservoir began in 1933, at the same time the aqueduct was being built across the desert. The reservoir site had previously been occupied chiefly by carob orchards and tin mines. Lawrence Holmes, Sr., who owned 1,100 acres in the future reservoir basin, lost his property to eminent domain in a lengthy court battle.  The dam across Cajalco Canyon and its intake structure were completed in 1939. The first water arrived from the Colorado River in February 1940, and water deliveries began in 1941. In 1961, the reservoir’s capacity was nearly doubled to its current capacity of 182,000 acre-feet.

Lake Mathews is surrounded by approximately 4,000 acres of protected land. In 1982, this land was declared a State ecological reserve. In the early 1990s, an additional 9,000 acres was added to the reserve after the discovery of the endangered Stephens kangaroo rat in the area. The area is now called the Lake Mathews Estelle Mountain Reserve.

Lake Mathews was constructed in a basin formerly traversed by Cajalco Creek; thus, any water flowing down the creek enters the reservoir. Cajalco Creek is a tributary of the Santa Ana River via Cajalco Canyon Creek into Temescal Creek.
Since its dedication in 1940, the reservoir has been fenced off and closed to public access, supposedly to preserve water quality. The MWD has always been concerned about water quality and prohibits body contact sports like swimming in its other nearby reservoirs that are open for recreation, Lake Skinner and Diamond Valley Lake. Mathews is of greatest importance as its outlet feeds directly into pipelines that connect to member water agencies serving 8.4 million people.

Lake Norconian - Riverside County, California

On 1/2/18 during a visit to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area.  This picture below was taken just outside the entrance gate on the east side of the military base gate.  I drove up to the gate and asked permission to go inside to just take a picture of the lake and he said, “Access Denied”!  So, I will not be able to provide a picture of the lake that I have taken personally, but I took a picture of the front gate sign.  At an elevation of 657 feet above sea level, Lake Norconian, is an artificial lake, in Norco, Riverside County, California.  This lake is very shallow and is only 16 feet at the deepest point.  Lake Norconian was created in the early 1920s as part of the Norconian Resort. This 60-acre lake was equipped with a boat house and beautiful Pavilion. It was the site where a few 1930's movies were filmed. Acquired with the resort by the U. S. Navy in 1941, the lake is now part of the Naval Surface Warfare Assessment Center.
 

 

 

Prado Reservoir - Riverside County, California

Visited on 1/2/2018 during a trip to proctor examinations for work I visited the Riverside area of South California.  I visited several lakes in the area.  This picture was taken just outside the entrance gate on the west side of the lake.  Prado Reservoir is a reservoir in northwestern Riverside County and southwestern San Bernardino County, a couple of miles west of the city of Corona, California. At an elevation of 489 feet above sea level, the reservoir has a capacity of 6,695 acres and is formed by Prado Dam on the Santa Ana River. The dam is composed of rock-fill and has a height of 106 feet above the original streambed. It was built on the upper end of the Lower Santa Ana River Canyon, where there is a natural constriction in the river. The dam was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and was completed in 1941.  Prado Dam and Prado Reservoir provide flood control and water conservation.  Their operation is coordinated with the facilities upstream.  Prado Reservoir is not a storage reservoir, so water is released as quickly as possible while still allowing groundwater recharge.  When the water level reaches the top of the buffer pool, who size changes depending on time of year, water is released at the maximum rate that the downstream channel will allow.