List of largest reservoirs of California facts for kids
Map of California's interconnected water system, including all eleven reservoirs over 1,000,000 acre-feet (1.2 km3) as well as selected smaller ones.
This is a list of the largest reservoirs, or man-made lakes, in the U.S. state of California. All fifty-three reservoirs that contain over 100,000 acre-feet (0.12 km3) of water at maximum capacity are listed. This includes those formed by raising the level of natural lakes, such as at Lake Tahoe. Most large reservoirs in California are owned by the federal Bureau of Reclamation and to a lesser extent the Army Corps of Engineers, many serving the Central Valley Project or State Water Project. Smaller ones are often run by county water agencies or irrigation and flood control districts.
The state has more than one thousand major reservoirs, of which the largest two hundred have a combined capacity of over 41,000,000 acre-feet (51 km3). Most large reservoirs in California are located in the central and northern portions of the state, especially along the large and flood-prone rivers of the Central Valley. Eleven reservoirs have a storage capacity greater than or equal to 1,000,000 acre-feet (1.2 km3); all of these except one are in or on drainages that feed into the Central Valley. The largest single reservoir in California is Shasta Lake, with a full volume of more than 4,552,000 acre-feet (5.615 km3).
| Key |
|---|
 denotes reservoir not entirely in California |
 denotes reservoir that is offstream or receives most of its water from a source not associated with its feeder stream(s). |
List
| Name | County(s) | Coordinates | Volume (acre-feet) | Volume (km3) | Outflow | Dam | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | Shasta | 40°45′15″N 122°21′13″W / 40.75417°N 122.35361°W | 4,552,000 | 5.615 | Sacramento River | Shasta Dam |  |
| Lake Oroville | Butte | 39°32′14″N 121°29′00″W / 39.53722°N 121.48333°W | 3,537,577 | 4.364 | Feather River | Oroville Dam |  |
| Trinity Lake | Trinity | 40°51′36″N 122°43′24″W / 40.86000°N 122.72333°W | 2,448,000 | 3.020 | Trinity River | Trinity Dam |  |
| New Melones Lake | Tuolumne, Calaveras |
38°00′02″N 120°31′12″W / 38.00056°N 120.52000°W | 2,400,000 | 2.960 | Stanislaus River | New Melones Dam |  |
| San Luis Reservoir | Merced | 37°04′04″N 121°07′52″W / 37.06778°N 121.13111°W | 2,041,000 | 2.518 | San Luis Creek |
San Luis Dam |  |
| Don Pedro Reservoir | Tuolumne | 37°44′30″N 120°22′25″W / 37.74167°N 120.37361°W | 2,030,000 | 2.504 | Tuolumne River | New Don Pedro Dam | .jpg) |
| Lake Berryessa | Napa | 38°31′53″N 122°09′49″W / 38.53139°N 122.16361°W | 1,602,000 | 1.976 | Putah Creek | Monticello Dam |  |
| Lake Almanor | Plumas | 40°13′47″N 121°09′29″W / 40.22972°N 121.15806°W | 1,308,000 | 1.613 | North Feather River | Canyon Dam |  |
| Folsom Lake | Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer | 38°43′26″N 121°07′03″W / 38.72389°N 121.11750°W | 1,120,200 | 1.382 | American River | Folsom Dam |  |
| Lake McClure | Mariposa | 37°38′11″N 120°16′49″W / 37.63639°N 120.28028°W | 1,024,600 | 1.264 | Merced River | New Exchequer Dam | .jpg) |
| Pine Flat Lake | Fresno | 36°49′57″N 119°19′33″W / 36.83250°N 119.32583°W | 1,000,000 | 1.233 | Kings River | Pine Flat Dam |  |
| New Bullards Bar Reservoir | Yuba | 39°23′32″N 121°08′30″W / 39.39222°N 121.14167°W | 996,103 | 1.229 | North Yuba River | New Bullards Bar Dam |  |
| Diamond Valley Lake | Riverside | 33°40′42″N 117°02′30″W / 33.67833°N 117.04167°W | 810,000 | 0.999 | Domenigoni Creek |
West Dam |  |
| Lake Tahoe | Placer, El Dorado, Douglas (NV), Washoe (NV) |
39°04′59″N 120°02′03″W / 39.08306°N 120.03417°W | 732,000 | 0.903 | Truckee River | Lake Tahoe Dam |  |
| Lake Havasu | San Bernardino, Mohave (AZ), La Paz (AZ) |
34°23′00″N 114°14′33″W / 34.38333°N 114.24250°W | 646,200 | 0.797 | Colorado River | Parker Dam |  |
| Lake Isabella | Kern | 35°38′47″N 118°28′56″W / 35.64639°N 118.48222°W | 568,000 | 0.701 | Kern River | Isabella Dam |  |
| Clear Lake Reservoir | Modoc | 41°50′59″N 121°10′14″W / 41.84972°N 121.17056°W | 527,000 | 0.650 | Lost River | Clear Lake Dam | |
| Millerton Lake | Fresno, Madera | 36°59′51″N 119°41′36″W / 36.99750°N 119.69333°W | 520,500 | 0.642 | San Joaquin River | Friant Dam |  |
| Camanche Reservoir | San Joaquin, Amador, Calaveras | 38°13′26″N 120°58′04″W / 38.22389°N 120.96778°W | 431,000 | 0.532 | Mokelumne River | Camanche Dam | |
| Lake Sonoma | Sonoma | 38°43′05″N 123°00′34″W / 38.71806°N 123.00944°W | 381,000 | 0.470 | Dry Creek | Warm Springs Dam |  |
| Lake Nacimiento | San Luis Obispo | 35°44′40″N 120°54′14″W / 35.74444°N 120.90389°W | 378,480 | 0.467 | Nacimiento River | Nacimiento Dam |  |
| Hetch Hetchy Reservoir | Tuolumne | 37°56′21″N 119°43′32″W / 37.93917°N 119.72556°W | 360,000 | 0.444 | Tuolumne River | O'Shaughnessy Dam |  |
| Lake San Antonio | Monterey | 35°52′13″N 121°00′19″W / 35.87028°N 121.00528°W | 335,000 | 0.413 | San Antonio River | San Antonio Dam |  |
| Castaic Lake | Los Angeles | 34°31′12″N 118°36′23″W / 34.52000°N 118.60639°W | 323,700 | 0.399 | Castaic Creek |
Castaic Dam |  |
| New Hogan Lake | Calaveras | 38°09′03″N 120°48′47″W / 38.15083°N 120.81306°W | 317,000 | 0.391 | Calaveras River | New Hogan Dam |  |
| Prado Flood Control Basin | Riverside | 33°54′33″N 117°37′07″W / 33.90917°N 117.61861°W | 314,400 | 0.389 | Santa Ana River | Prado Dam |  |
| Clear Lake | Lake | 39°03′42″N 122°49′38″W / 39.06167°N 122.82722°W | 313,000 | 0.386 | Cache Creek | Cache Creek Dam |  |
| Indian Valley Reservoir | Lake | 39°07′31″N 122°32′34″W / 39.12528°N 122.54278°W | 300,600 | 0.371 | North Fork Cache Creek | Indian Valley Dam |  |
| Cherry Lake | Tuolumne | 38°00′20″N 119°54′25″W / 38.00556°N 119.90694°W | 274,300 | 0.338 | Cherry Creek | Cherry Valley Dam |  |
| Lake Casitas | Ventura | 34°23′09″N 119°20′08″W / 34.38583°N 119.33556°W | 254,000 | 0.313 | Coyote Creek |
Casitas Dam |  |
| San Vicente Reservoir | San Diego | 32°55′51″N 116°54′22″W / 32.93083°N 116.90611°W | 242,000 | 0.298 | San Vicente Creek |
San Vicente Dam |  |
| Whiskeytown Lake | Shasta | 40°37′41″N 122°33′51″W / 40.62806°N 122.56417°W | 241,100 | 0.297 | Clear Creek |
Whiskeytown Dam |  |
| Union Valley Reservoir | El Dorado | 38°52′35″N 120°24′00″W / 38.87639°N 120.40000°W | 230,000 | 0.284 | Silver Creek |
Union Valley Dam |  |
| Stampede Reservoir | Sierra | 39°28′38″N 120°08′26″W / 39.47722°N 120.14056°W | 226,500 | 0.279 | Little Truckee River | Stampede Dam |  |
| Twitchell Reservoir | Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo | 35°00′44″N 120°18′25″W / 35.01222°N 120.30694°W | 224,300 | 0.277 | Cuyama River | Twitchell Dam |  |
| Pardee Reservoir | Amador, Calaveras | 38°15′27″N 120°51′01″W / 38.25750°N 120.85028°W | 209,950 | 0.259 | Mokelumne River | Pardee Dam | |
| Hell Hole Reservoir | Placer | 39°03′33″N 120°24′35″W / 39.05917°N 120.40972°W | 208,400 | 0.257 | Rubicon River | Hell Hole Dam |  |
| Lake Cachuma | Santa Barbara | 34°35′12″N 119°58′52″W / 34.58667°N 119.98111°W | 205,000 | 0.253 | Santa Ynez River | Bradbury Dam |  |
| New Spicer Meadow Reservoir | Alpine, Tuolumne |
38°24′26″N 119°57′46″W / 38.40722°N 119.96278°W | 190,000 | 0.234 | Highland Creek | New Spicer Meadow Dam |  |
| Lake Kaweah | Tulare | 36°24′19″N 118°58′22″W / 36.40528°N 118.97278°W | 185,600 | 0.229 | Kaweah River | Terminus Dam | .jpg) |
| Los Vaqueros Reservoir | Contra Costa | 37°49′09″N 121°44′04″W / 37.81917°N 121.73444°W | 160,000 | 0.197 | Kellogg Creek | Los Vaqueros Dam | .jpg) |
| Black Butte Lake | Glenn, Tehama |
39°47′28″N 122°21′51″W / 39.79111°N 122.36417°W | 143,700 | 0.177 | Stony Creek | Black Butte Dam | .jpg) |
| Salt Springs Reservoir | Amador, Calaveras |
38°29′50″N 120°10′56″W / 38.49722°N 120.18222°W | 141,900 | 0.175 | Mokelumne River | Salt Springs Dam | |
| French Meadows Reservoir | Placer | 39°06′53″N 120°26′23″W / 39.11472°N 120.43972°W | 136,400 | 0.168 | Middle Fork American River | L.L. Anderson Dam | |
| Shaver Lake | Fresno | 37°07′33″N 119°17′26″W / 37.12583°N 119.29056°W | 135,283 | 0.167 | Stevenson Creek | Shaver Lake Dam |  |
| Lake Perris | Riverside | 33°51′21″N 117°10′36″W / 33.85583°N 117.17667°W | 131,452 | 0.162 | N/A | Perris Dam | |
| Lake Thomas A. Edison | Fresno | 37°22′58″N 118°58′34″W / 37.38278°N 118.97611°W | 125,000 | 0.154 | Mono Creek | Vermilion Valley Dam |  |
| Courtright Reservoir | Fresno | 37°06′10″N 118°58′32″W / 37.10278°N 118.97556°W | 123,300 | 0.152 | Helms Creek | Courtright Dam |  |
| Mammoth Pool Reservoir | Fresno | 37°19′50″N 119°19′15″W / 37.33056°N 119.32083°W | 123,000 | 0.152 | San Joaquin River | Mammoth Pool Dam |  |
| Lake Mendocino | Mendocino | 39°12′56″N 123°10′24″W / 39.21556°N 123.17333°W | 122,400 | 0.151 | Russian River | Coyote Valley Dam |  |
| Wishon Reservoir | Fresno | 37°01′04″N 118°57′47″W / 37.01778°N 118.96306°W | 118,000 | 0.146 | North Fork Kings River | Wishon Dam | |
| Camp Far West Reservoir | Yuba | 39°01′54″N 121°17′12″W / 39.03167°N 121.28667°W | 104,500 | 0.129 | Bear River | Camp Far West Dam |  |
| Bucks Lake | Plumas | 39°52′56″N 121°09′52″W / 39.88222°N 121.16444°W | 103,000 | 0.127 | Bucks Creek | Bucks Storage Dam |  |
| Calaveras Reservoir | Alameda, Santa Clara |
37°28′29″N 121°49′10″W / 37.47472°N 121.81944°W | 100,000 | 0.123 | Calaveras Creek | Calaveras Dam |  |
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
List of largest reservoirs of California Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.