Lake Kaweah
Lake Kaweah is a reservoir near Lemon Cove in Tulare County, California. The lake is formed by Terminus Dam on the Kaweah River. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada and drains about 560 sq mi (1,500 km2) into Lake Kaweah before flowing towards the San Joaquin Valley. From Lake Kaweah, the river flows toward the city of Visalia, splitting into the Kaweah River and St. Johns River as it flows west into the Tulare Lakebed. The lake has a capacity of 185,000 acre⋅ft (228,000,000 m3). A project to raise the lake 21 ft (6.4 m) was completed in 2004. The lake now impounds an additional 42,000 acre⋅ft (52,000,000 m3) and downstream flood protection to downstream communities and agricultural land has been increased.
Because its primary purpose is flood control, Lake Kaweah is maintained at a very low level or empty for most of the year, and generally only fills between May and June. Due to the limited capacity of the reservoir, large spills of floodwater often occur after large rain storms. In the winter, water is released as quickly as possible to ensure room for floodwater which can then be released at a controlled rate. During floods in 1997, the reservoir filled and emptied twice because of this operational regimen.
In 2007, high winds from a severe thunderstorm cut loose the boat dock along the lake, affecting 200 boats.[1]
At the upper end of Lake Kaweah is the small town of Three Rivers, which sits at the entrance to Sequoia National Park.
See also
- Lime Kiln Creek
- List of dams and reservoirs in California
- List of lakes in California
References
- ^ "Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Centers for Environmental Information".
External links
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Lake Kaweah
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Kaweah
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- North Fork Kings River
- South Fork Kings River
- Middle Fork Kings River
- Roaring River
- Dinkey Creek
- Kings Canyon
- Pine Flat Dam
- Pine Flat Lake
- Rodgers Crossing Dam (proposed)
- North Fork Kaweah River
- Middle Fork Kaweah River
- Marble Fork Kaweah River
- East Fork Kaweah River
- South Fork Kaweah River
- Lime Kiln Creek
- Paradise Creek
- Horse Creek
- St. John's River
- Kaweah Canyon
- Mineral King
- Terminus Dam
- Lake Kaweah
- North Fork Tule River
- Middle Fork Tule River
- South Fork Tule River
- North Branch Tule River
- South Branch Tule River
- Success Dam
- Lake Success
- Buena Vista Lake
- Buena Vista Slough
- Canebrake Creek
- Clear Creek
- Connecting Slough
- Golden Trout Creek
- Isabella Dam
- Lake Isabella
- Kern River Canyon
- Kern River Slough
- Kern Lake
- Lake Evans
- Lake Webb
- Little Kern River
- Poso Creek
- Rock Creek
- South Fork Kern River
- Tulare Lake
- California Aqueduct
- Friant-Kern Canal
- Mill Creek
- White River