Big Creek (San Joaquin River tributary) facts for kids
Big Creek is a 19.3-mile (31.1 km) long stream in central California. It flows into the San Joaquin River and is located within the Sierra National Forest in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
This stream flows through Fresno County. There is also a small town called Big Creek, which got its name from this very stream.
Big Creek Hydroelectric Project
The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is a huge system that uses water to create electricity. It is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world! This project is partly built along Big Creek and is owned by a company called Southern California Edison.
This amazing project includes nine different power plants. These plants are named Portal, Eastwood, Mammoth Pool, and Big Creek 1, 2, 2A, 3, 4, and 8.
The project also uses several large reservoirs (which are like big man-made lakes) to store water. These include Huntington Lake, Shaver Lake, Redinger Lake, Florence Lake, Lake Thomas A Edison, and Mammoth Pool Reservoir.
The water from the Big Creek project eventually flows into the San Joaquin River. Even further downstream, the San Joaquin River passes through more powerhouses, like A.G. Wishon and the powerhouse at Friant Dam, creating even more electricity.
