Stony Gorge Dam facts for kids
The Stony Gorge Dam is a large dam located in Glenn County, California. It was built to help manage water for farming and to prevent floods. The dam also helps create electricity.
Building the Stony Gorge Dam
The Stony Gorge Dam was built a long time ago, between 1926 and 1928. It was constructed by a group called the United States Bureau of Reclamation. This group helps manage water resources in the United States.
The dam is made of concrete and is 153 feet (about 47 meters) tall. It stretches 868 feet (about 265 meters) across the land. It's a special type of dam called an Ambursen-type dam, which means it has a unique design with strong supports called buttresses.
What the Dam Does
The main job of the Stony Gorge Dam is to hold back the water from Stony Creek. This creates a large lake called the Stony Gorge Reservoir. The water in the reservoir is used for a few important things:
- Irrigation: This means providing water to farms so crops can grow.
- Flood Control: The dam helps stop floods by holding back extra water during heavy rains.
- Making Electricity: The dam also uses the power of the moving water to create hydroelectric power, which is a clean way to make electricity.
The Stony Gorge Dam is part of a bigger plan called the Orland Project. This project, along with the East Park Dam upstream, was one of the first major water projects by the Bureau of Reclamation in the Sacramento Valley. The dam is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, but a local group called the Orland Unit Water Users' Association helps run it.
Stony Gorge Reservoir
The lake created by the dam is called Stony Gorge Reservoir. It's a big lake, covering about 1,280 acres (about 5 square kilometers). The shoreline around the lake is about 18 miles (about 29 kilometers) long. When it's full, the reservoir can hold a lot of water, about 58,500 acre-feet.
The reservoir is a popular spot for outdoor activities. People can go camping, boating, and fishing there. If you like to fish, you might catch fish like largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and catfish.
