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Morris Reservoir
Morris 21.jpg
Location of Morris Reservoir in California, USA.
Location of Morris Reservoir in California, USA.
Morris Reservoir
Location in California
Location of Morris Reservoir in California, USA.
Location of Morris Reservoir in California, USA.
Morris Reservoir
Location in the United States
Location Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates 34°10′27″N 117°52′49″W / 34.17417°N 117.88028°W / 34.17417; -117.88028
Type reservoir
Primary outflows San Gabriel River
Basin countries United States
Surface elevation 1,145 ft (349 m)

Morris Reservoir is located in the San Gabriel Mountains, within the Angeles National Forest, in Los Angeles County, California.

It is impounded by Morris Dam, which was completed in 1935. Morris Dam is a gravity dam rising 245 feet (75 m) above the San Gabriel River stream bed.

Geography

The reservoir is located alongside California State Route 39, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the city of Azusa. Morris Reservoir is just downstream from the San Gabriel Dam. The mean water elevation is about 1,100 feet (340 m), when the reservoir is at capacity.

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VARIABLE-ANGLE LAUNCHER CAMERA CAR, VIEW OF CAMERA CAR AND TRACK WITH CAMERA STATION ABOVE LOOKING NORTH TAKEN FROM RESERVOIR. - Variable Angle Launcher Complex, Camera Car HAER CAL,19-AZUSA.V,1D-1
Camera launcher, at Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site.

Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site

The reservoir and its slopes were the Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site, a naval weapons test facility, from World War II through the 1990s. The reservoir was transferred to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works in 1995.

The test facility was established by Caltech, which was developing weapons for the Navy at its Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake (town), near Ridgecrest, California. It today is now known as the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and is still the primary proving ground for naval weapons systems. Because China Lake is a dry lake in the Mojave Desert, Caltech opened this substation at the Morris Reservoir, near their campus, north of Azusa in the San Gabriel Mountains.

This site was used especially for the development of submarine-based warfare systems, including torpedoes, bombs, and submarine-launched missiles like the Polaris rocket, the first ballistic missile that could be launched from submerged submarines.

Most of the buildings at the site have been removed, and the site is being restored to a "natural" state, and may once again be open to the public.

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