Lake Elsman is a reservoir, created by an earthen dam called Austrian Dam on Los Gatos Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. At several points it is over 140' deep and its normal surface area is 96 acres. It provides 12% of San Jose Water Works’ total water capacity in some years. The lake and dam is owned by the San Jose Water Company,
In 1988 and 1989, two earthquakes at "M"=5.3 and 5.4 respectively occurred at Lake Elsman that transferred stress that led to the 1989 "M"=6.9 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Austrian Dam.
Construction of the Austrian Dam was completed in 1950. Beneath the reservoir are the remains of the settlements of Austrian Gulch and Germantown. The dam is more than long and high. The dam was damaged in the Loma Prieta quake. The performance of Austrian Dam during that earthquake reinforces concerns about damage to the tops of earth dams by earthquakes.
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