Seven Oaks Reservoir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Seven Oaks Reservoir |
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 Seven Oaks Reservoir
Location in California
Seven Oaks Reservoir
Location in the United States
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| Location | San Bernardino County, California |
| Coordinates | 34°07′04″N 117°05′52″W / 34.11778°N 117.09778°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Santa Ana River |
| Primary outflows | Santa Ana River |
| Basin countries | United States |
The Seven Oaks Reservoir is a large reservoir located in San Bernardino County, California. It sits on the Santa Ana River, about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Redlands. This reservoir was created by the Seven Oaks Dam, which was finished in 1999.
About Seven Oaks Reservoir
A reservoir is like a big, artificial lake. It is built to store water for different uses. The Seven Oaks Reservoir helps manage water in Southern California.
Why Was It Built?
The United States Army Corps of Engineers built the Seven Oaks Dam. This group is part of the U.S. Army. They build things like dams and canals. Their main goal for this dam was to stop flooding. It protects the eastern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
The dam is very tall. It stands about 550 feet (168 meters) above the riverbed. From its very lowest point, it is about 650 feet (198 meters) high.
How Does It Work?
The reservoir is quite large. It can hold about 147,970 acre-feet (182.5 million cubic meters) of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land one foot deep.
Its main job is flood control. This means that when there is too much rain, the dam holds back the water. Then, the water is slowly let out. This prevents floods downstream.
Releasing water slowly also helps recharge the groundwater aquifer. An aquifer is an underground layer of rock or sand that holds water. This water can then be used later. The releases from Seven Oaks are planned with another dam, Prado Dam, which is 40 miles (64 km) downstream.
