Fountaingrove Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fountaingrove Lake |
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 Fountaingrove Lake
Location in California
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| Location | Sonoma County, California |
| Coordinates | 38°29′12″N 122°43′10″W / 38.48667°N 122.71944°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Piner Creek |
| Primary outflows | Piner Creek |
| Catchment area | 0.52 sq mi (1.3 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 33 acres (130,000 m2) |
| Water volume | 427 acre⋅ft (527,000 m3) |
| Surface elevation | 495 ft (151 m) |
| Islands | 1 |
| Settlements | Santa Rosa |
Fountaingrove Lake is a man-made lake, called a reservoir, in Santa Rosa, California, United States. It was created by the Fountaingrove Dam. Piner Creek flows into the lake from the east and is also the only stream flowing out of it.
The Fountaingrove Dam is an earthen dam, meaning it's made of compacted earth. It was built in 1953. The dam is about 38 feet (12 meters) high and 500 feet (152 meters) long. It is also about 15 feet (5 meters) wide.
In 1985, a private country club called The Fountaingrove Club built a large 18-hole golf course around Fountaingrove Lake. A famous golf course designer, Ted Robinson Sr., created the course.
The city of Santa Rosa owns the dam and half of the lake. This area is part of the Nagasawa Community Park.
Animals and Plants Around the Lake
Fountaingrove Lake is home to many different kinds of animals and plants. You can find them both in the water and on the land nearby.
The lake is especially known for being a home to the Western pond turtle. This turtle, also known as Actinemys marmorata, is a "Species of Special Concern." This means it's a species that needs special protection to help it survive.
Around the edges of the lake, there are many wetland plants. On the higher ground, you can see many native trees. These include the California live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and the Garry oak (Quercus garryana). People used to fish a lot in the lake. However, new buildings and the golf course have reduced how much fishing happens now.
Weather and Environment
The weather around Fountaingrove Lake is a mild Mediterranean climate. This type of climate is common in southern and central Sonoma County.
About 29.2 inches (74.2 cm) of rain falls at Fountaingrove Lake each year. Almost all of this is rainfall. The hottest temperature ever recorded here was 110 °F (43 °C). The coldest was 16 °F (-9 °C).
The air quality is usually good. This is because the winds mostly come from the northwest. They travel from the Pacific Ocean and don't pick up much pollution from factories.
Noise levels have slowly increased as Santa Rosa has grown. The main source of noise is Fountaingrove Parkway. Cars driving up the steep parts of this road can make noise levels reach 55 to 58 dBA near the lake.
Current Issues Affecting the Lake
In 2017, the Tubbs Fire caused a lot of damage. Many homes around the lake were destroyed. Some parts of the lake's shoreline were also affected.
The city of Santa Rosa plans to build a large water storage tank near the southern end of the lake. This tank will hold about 500,000 US gallons (1,893 kiloliters) of drinking water. The city has approved this project. They are taking steps to prevent erosion and stop too much silt (fine dirt) from flowing into Fountaingrove Lake during construction.
A large retirement community called Varenna is also being built on the hilltop near the southeastern side of Fountaingrove Lake. This project had some issues with protecting the wetlands around the lake. Because of this, the project had to do extra work to make up for the wetlands that were affected. They also put in measures to protect against erosion and installed special drainage systems called bioswales.
