| Lake Oroville | |
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| Orbital photograph of Lake Oroville | |
| Location | Oroville, Northern California |
| Coordinates | 39°33′N 121°27′W / 39.55°N 121.45°WCoordinates: 39°33′N 121°27′W / 39.55°N 121.45°W |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Feather River |
| Primary outflows | Feather River |
| Catchment area | Sacramento River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 15,810 acres (6,400 ha) |
| Water volume | 3,537,580 acre·ft (4.36354 km3) maximum |
| Shore length1 | 167 mi (269 km) |
| Surface elevation | 900 ft (270 m) |
| Islands | Bloomer Island, Foreman Island |
| Settlements | Oroville |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Oroville is a large man-made reservoir created by Oroville Dam in central Northern California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
It is located east (and upriver) of the city of Oroville, California in Butte County. The lake has a capacity of 3,537,580 acre feet (4.36 km³) and is created by the Oroville Dam on the Feather River, only a mile (2 km) downstream of the meeting of the North, Middle and South forks. Completed in 1968, Oroville Dam is the tallest earthen dam located in the United States, measuring over 770 feet (235 m) high and 6,920 feet (2109 m) across. At the time, it was the largest earth-fill dam in the world, but was soon exceeded by Aswan High Dam in Egypt. It was built by the California Department of Water Resources as part of the California State Water Project. The lake supplies water that is transported to the San Francisco Bay Area and southern portions of the state.
The dam houses the "Edward Hyatt Powerplant", an underground hydro-electric plant that was completed in 1967.[1] Six generators are used to provide a maximum generating capacity of 819 mVA. The facility was named for Edward Hyatt, who was State Engineer (1927-1950) of the Division of Water Resources under the Department of Public Works.
The South Forebay of the lake is used by speed boats, personal water craft and hydroplanes. The North Forebay is reserved for non-motorized use only, such as sailing and windsurfing. The lake is a popular bass fishing destination, hosting several fishing tournaments each year.[2]
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| Lake Orovill Oroville Reservoir[1] | |
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| Location | Butte County, east (upriver) of Oroville |
| Coordinates | 39°33′N 121°27′W / 39.55°N 121.45°WCoordinates: 39°33′N 121°27′W / 39.55°N 121.45°W |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | North Fork Feather River Middle Fork Feather River South Fork Feather River West Branch Feather River |
| Primary outflows | Feather River Palermo Canal |
| Catchment area | North Fork, East Branch, & Middle Fork watersheds |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 15,810 acres (6,400 ha) |
| Water volume | 3,537,580 acre·ft (4.36354 km3) maximum |
| Shore length1 | 167 mi (269 km) |
| Islands | Bloomer Island, Foreman Island |
| References | GNIS code 264163[2] Namesakes: •Lake Oroville Landing Area Seaplane Base •Lake Oroville State Recreation Area •Lake Oroville Visitors Center |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Oroville is a Northern California reservoir created by the Oroville Dam, the Bidwell Bar Canyon saddle dam, and an additional saddle dam (39°40′28″N 121°33′40″W / 39.674394°N 121.561189°W) in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Lake Oroville has an 812 ft (247 m) elevation at average capacity (2,332,203 acre-feet)[3] and has a 9,000 ft (2,700 m) diameter landing area for seaplanes. The lake is a popular bass fishing location,[4] while coho salmon are stocked from the Feather River Fish Hatchery.[5]
Prior to construction of the 1968 Oroville Dam, the current main basin of Lake Oroville was the location of the confluence of the North Fork Feather River with the Feather River (39°33′20″N 121°28′0″W / 39.55556°N 121.466667°W) and the now-inundated towns of Bidwell (39°33′25″N 121°27′56″W / 39.55694°N 121.46556°W) and Land (39°33′13″N 121°28′04″W / 39.55361°N 121.46778°W). Completed in 1968, Oroville Dam is the tallest earthen dam located in the United States, measuring over 770 feet (235 m) high and 6,920 feet (2109 m) across. The dam was the largest earth-fill dam in the world until succeeded by Aswan High Dam in Egypt. It was built by the California Department of Water Resources as part of the California State Water Project. The dam houses the "Edward Hyatt Powerplant", an underground hydro-electric plant that was completed in 1967.[6] Six generators are used to provide a maximum generating capacity of 819 MVA.
The Hyatt Generating-Pumping Plant source water for the Feather River is released from two discharge tunnels[7] at up to 17,500 cu ft/s (500 m3/s) during peak demand and "little or no release the remainder of the day".[1] The power plant also routinely draws up to 5,610 cu ft/s (159 m3/s)[7] of Feather River water for "pumpback" into Lake Oroville.[8] Hyatt releases are stored in the 4.40 mi (7.08 km) serpentine river channel (Thermalito Diversion Pool) which extends from the river's source to the Thermalito Diversion Dam.[9]
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