What is the largest lake in California?
Eastern Coachella Valley
Another visited site by tourists and local North Shore residents is the Salton Sea. What makes the Salton Sea a remarkable attraction is mostly due to the fact that (1) it is the largest California lake and (2) because it is located in the San Andreas Fault. This site attracts mostly geologists or environmentalists that seek research and other studies about the geology or pollution of the lake.
Great Basin
The Great Basin Divide separates the Great Basin from the watersheds draining to the Pacific Ocean. The southernmost portion of the Great Basin is the watershed area of the Laguna Salada. The Great Basin's longest and largest river is the Bear River of , and the largest single watershed is the Humboldt River drainage of roughly . Most Great Basin precipitation is snow, and the precipitation that neither evaporates nor is extracted for human use will sink into groundwater aquifers, while evaporation of collected water occurs from geographic sinks. Lake Tahoe, North America's largest alpine lake, is part of the Great Basin's central Lahontan subregion.
List of lakes in California
Many of California's large lakes are actually reservoirs: artificial bodies of fresh water. In terms of both area and volume, the largest of these is Lake Shasta, which formed behind Shasta Dam in the 1940s. The dam can impound of water over .
Open and closed lakes
Apart from Australia and Southern Africa, it is rare for runoff variability to be high enough for these changes to take place on a useful time scale, and lakes forming in areas where conversions from closed to open or open to closed are likely are very rare. However, Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America, has historically been a semi-open lake with very limited outflow, but recent glacial retreat has reduced inflows so much that some believe it could become a completely closed lake in the future. In North Dakota Devils Lake, historically a closed lake, is known to have been an open lake during the Medieval Warm Period. Since 1999, possibly due to global warming, Devils Lake has overflowed into another terminus called Stump Lake, which could overflow into the Red River of the North if present wet conditions in the region continue. Also, the former Tulare Lake in California was known to have overflowed its basin in some years but not others, switching between an open and closed lake.
Bass Lake (Madera County, California)
Most of the land around the lake is part of the Sierra National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service designated the lake an official Recreation Area and has developed campgrounds and picnic areas on the south shore of the lake. The north shore of the lake is primarily made up of private cabins and homes of the unincorporated community, Bass Lake, California, with a year-round population of 2,195.
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Created by the construction of Blue Mesa Dam in 1966, Blue Mesa Reservoir is Colorado's largest body of water. Fed by the Lake Fork Arm of the Gunnison River, Soap Creek, and Cebolla Creek, the long, broad lake is long, has of shoreline, and is the largest Lake Trout and Kokanee salmon fishery in the United States. The majority of the park's visitor and recreational facilities are located around Blue Mesa and can be accessed by that section of U.S. 50 between Gunnison and Montrose, which traverses the entire length of the reservoir. Other facilities can be found on the lake's deep arms, such as Cebolla Creek and Soap Creek, which can only be reached by boat or unpaved road.
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area, and second largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. The total surface is , and the total volume (measured at the low water datum) is , slightly less than the volume of Lake Baikal (, 22–23% of the world's surface fresh water). Due to their sea-like characteristics (rolling waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths, and distant horizons) the five Great Lakes have also long been referred to as "inland seas". Lake Superior is the second largest lake in the world by area, and the largest freshwater lake by area. Lake Michigan is the largest lake that is entirely within one country.
Clear Lake (California)
Known as the "Bass Capital of the West," Clear Lake supports large populations of bass, crappie, bluegill, carp and catfish. Two-thirds of the fish caught in Clear Lake are largemouth bass, with a record of . Clear Lake was most recently ranked by "Bassmaster Magazine" in 2016 as the #3 best bass lake in the United States and the #1 best bass lake on the West Coast. In addition to fish, there is abundant wildlife within the Clear Lake basin. There are year-round populations of ducks, pelicans, grebes, blue herons, egrets, osprey, and bald eagles, and the basin supports sizable populations of deer, bear, mountain lion, raccoon and other animals.
Diamond Valley Lake
Planning for the lake began in 1987. The main goal was to meet Southern California seasonal, drought and emergency needs. MWD chose the current site because of its geographic location, and began construction planning in 1993. Construction of the lake in 1995 with construction of the three dams. With over 40 million cubic yards of foundation excavation and 110 million cubic yards of embankment construction, the construction of the dams was the largest earthworks project in the United States. The shovels, loaders and trucks used on the project were the largest available and established a new standard for earth and rock movement. The two rock processing plants established for the project provided combined production exceeding the capability of any single commercial processing operation in California. Construction of the lake was the largest construction project by the MWD since building the Colorado River Aqueduct.
Lake Nacimiento
Lake Nacimiento has a low fish population due to the high levels of mercury present in the lake, due to runoff from the closed Klau and Buena Vista Mercury Mines, south of the lake. Only a few fisherman manage to catch fish. Consumption of bass, crappies, carps, and catfish from the lake is dangerous, but blue gill and sucker fish may be eaten only once per week safely. The lake is unique among California reservoirs in that it contains, among other species, introduced white bass, which thrive in the lake and spawn in the river and inflowing creeks in spring. In fact, the world fly fishing record for a white bass was broken in 1981 at Lake Nacimiento. The fish was caught by Cory Wells, a member of the world famous musical group, Three Dog Night. The record stood for over 27 years. Lake Nacimiento can also produce power from a turbine at the base of the dam.
Clear Lake State Park (California)
Clear Lake State Park is a state park of California, USA, on Clear Lake. The park is popular for water recreation. Amenities include 149 developed campsites spread across four campground areas, two group campsites, a swimming beach with showers, a boat launch, and a marina. Since the area is a major breeding ground for grebes, there's a broad "no wake" zone in the Cole Creek launch area and near the reedy shoreline, which is conducive to canoeing and kayaking. The park was established in 1949.
Tulare, California
Tulare is located in the heart of the Central Valley, eight miles south of Visalia and sixty miles north of Bakersfield. The city is named for the currently dry Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. The city's mission statement is: "To promote a quality of life making Tulare the most desirable community in which to live, learn, play, work, worship and prosper." The Stockton seaport is away, and the Sacramento port is away. The Los Angeles and San Francisco ports are each approximately away, making Tulare a hub or central location for product movement.
History of California 1900–present
Shasta Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam across the Sacramento River in the northern part of California, at the north end of the Sacramento Valley. The dam mainly serves long-term water storage and flood control in its reservoir, Shasta Lake. The lake has of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita. The lake's maximum depth is . Water released from the lake generates hydroelectric power. At high, the dam is the ninth-tallest dam in the United States and forms the largest reservoir in California.
California
The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snowy range") includes the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states, Mount Whitney, at . The range embraces Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially carved domes, and Sequoia National Park, home to the giant sequoia trees, the largest living organisms on Earth, and the deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume.
Tulare County, California
Tulare County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 442,179. Its county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. Drained for agricultural development, the site is now in Kings County, which was created in 1893 from the western portion of the formerly larger Tulare County.
Kent Lake
Kent Lake is a reservoir in western Marin County, California formed by the construction of Peters Dam across Lagunitas Creek. Built in 1954, the lake is the most recent lake of the Marin Municipal Water District, as well as the largest.
List of largest reservoirs of California
The state has more than one thousand major reservoirs, of which the largest two hundred have a combined capacity of over . Most large reservoirs in California are located in the central and northern portions of the state, especially along the large and flood-prone rivers of the Central Valley. Eleven reservoirs have a storage capacity greater than or equal to ; all of these except one are in or on drainages that feed into the Central Valley. The largest single reservoir in California is Shasta Lake, with a full volume of more than .
Bear Lake (Idaho–Utah)
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border in the Western United States. About in size, it is split about equally between the two states; its Utah portion comprises the second-largest natural freshwater lake in Utah, after Utah Lake. The lake has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, which is due to the refraction of calcium carbonate (limestone) deposits suspended in the lake. Its water properties have led to the evolution of several unique species of fauna that occur only within the lake. Bear Lake is over 250,000 years old. It was formed by fault subsidence that continues today, slowly deepening the lake along the eastern side.
Schoenoplectus acutus
Tules once lined the shores of Tulare Lake, California, formerly the largest freshwater lake in the western United States, until it was drained by land speculators in the 20th century. The expression "out in the tules" is still common, deriving from the dialect of old Californian families and means "where no one would want to live", with a touch of irony. The phrase is comparable to "out in the boondocks".
Lake Tecopa
Lake Tecopa occupied the Tecopa Valley, a pear-shaped valley east of southern Death Valley, in Inyo County, California. The cities of Barstow, California and Las Vegas, Nevada lie close to the lake basin. The lake itself had a roughly triangular shape with a northern, a southwestern and a southeastern corner, and ad its highstand it covered a surface of about . Outcrops of lake sediments occupy a length of along the Amargosa River and are wide at their broadest. Its southern margin is not clear, given that the height of the sill to the China Ranch basin is undetermined. Several islands existed in Lake Tecopa; among these are the largest, close to Tecopa, California, and two smaller ones north of Shoshone, California. The shores of the lake featured marshes and deltas where Amargosa River or spring water entered the lake, as well as freshwater ponds where springs and streams flowed into Lake Tecopa.
Mink Lake (Lane County, Oregon)
Mink Lake is the second-largest wilderness lake in the U.S. state of Oregon. Mink Lake lies at about above sea level on a Cascade Range lava plateau in the Three Sisters Wilderness in eastern Lane County. One of many lakes in the Mink Lake Basin, it covers .
Montana
There are some 3,000 named lakes and reservoirs in Montana, including Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake in the western United States. Other major lakes include Whitefish Lake in the Flathead Valley and Lake McDonald and St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park. The largest reservoir in the state is Fort Peck Reservoir on the Missouri river, which is contained by the second largest earthen dam and largest hydraulically filled dam in the world. Other major reservoirs include Hungry Horse on the Flathead River; Lake Koocanusa on the Kootenai River; Lake Elwell on the Marias River; Clark Canyon on the Beaverhead River; Yellowtail on the Bighorn River, Canyon Ferry, Hauser, Holter, Rainbow; and Black Eagle on the Missouri River.
Lake Earl
Lake Earl is largest coastal lagoon in California. Due to the remoteness and natural environment of the area, the lake is often used for birders and is locally popular with duck hunters. Fishing for cutthroat trout is also a common use. The lake is lightly used by kayakers. Water skiing is prohibited.
Fena Lake
Fena Lake is the largest lake in the United States territory of Guam. It is located in the south of the island, and is overlooked by the nearby peaks of Mounts Lamlam, Alifan and Jumullong Manglo. The lake's outflow is to the north-west, its waters eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean at Talofofo Bay.
Murtle Lake
In 1968, about 40% of Wells Gray Park or was set aside as the Murtle Lake Nature Conservancy and gave this area a high level of protection from development. Two years later, motorboats and aircraft were banned and today Murtle Lake is the largest lake in North America where only canoes and kayaks are allowed.
Siltcoos Lake
Siltcoos Lake (silt’-koos), at , is the largest lake on the Oregon Coast of the United States. Fed by runoff from a basin of about in Douglas and Lane counties, it is about south of Florence and east of U.S. Route 101. Its name comes from a Lower Umpqua (Siuslaw) placename, a variant of which is "Tsiltcoos".
History of California 1900–present
Trinity Dam was the main storage feature of the Central Valley Project (CVP) proposal to divert water from the Trinity River in northwestern California to augment water supplies in the CVP service area. In 1948, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which was responsible for the construction and operations of most CVP facilities, devised a plan of four dams and two tunnels to capture and store some of the flow of the Trinity River and transport it to the Sacramento River, generating a net surplus of hydroelectric power along the way. Trinity Dam was the main storage feature of the division, providing a stable flow to the Lewiston Dam, the diversion point for Trinity River waters into the Central Valley via the Trinity Tunnel. Trinity Lake was completely filled with water from the Trinity River by 1963, becoming the third largest lake in California, with of shoreline.
Trinity Lake
The Discovery of Gold in 1848 prompted hundreds of miners to move into the area. Towns like Weaverville were born practically overnight. In 1958, a plan to divert water from Trinity River to California’s Central Valley led to the construction of Trinity Dam and the creation of Trinity Lake. This project was also designed to provide hydroelectric power to the local area. The Trinity River Division of the Central Valley Project came to fruition in 1961 with the completion of Trinity Dam. The lake was renamed Clair Engle Lake from 1964 to 1997. It was eventually renamed Trinity Lake. The lake was completely filled with water from the Trinity River by 1963 and is the third largest lake in California with 145 miles of shoreline. The area is known to have been inhabited by several Native American tribes, most notably the Yurok and Hoopa. Both tribes have reservation lands in the area to this day.
Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a completely snow-fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it has an east-west length of approximately and is approximately at its widest measurement, though the lake's width mostly averages a little more than . These approximations are based on the lake having an optimum retainable water level. At dam's end Big Bear measures its deepest water at .
Canyon Lake, California
All of the homeowners within the Canyon Lake POA have rights and access to the lake for recreational uses. Personal watercraft (jet skis, etc.) are banned for use on the reservoir. However, ski-boats (with a maximum length of 21 feet), fishing boats, row boats, paddle boats, sailboats and kayaks are allowed, as are wake-boarding and water-skiing. There is a speed limit on the main lake, which is patrolled by Canyon Lake's Lake and Marine Patrol, as well the California Department of Fish and Game. The East Bay is limited to a no wake speed. Each year the association stocks the lake with catfish and bass, which join the crappie and bluegill. There are swimming areas, fishing spots, beaches, a slalom course and a jump lagoon, gas docks, and rental slips.
Lake Elsinore, California
Lake Elsinore is a city in western Riverside County, California, United States. Established as a city in 1888, it is on the shore of Lake Elsinore, a natural freshwater lake about in size. The city has grown from a small resort town in the late 19th century and early 20th century to a population of well above 60,000 as of 2016.
Eagle Lake (Lassen County)
Eagle Lake is a lake at elevation in Lassen County approximately north of Susanville, California. An endorheic alkaline lake, it is the second largest natural lake entirely in the state of California, United States.
California, Missouri
Proctor Park is the largest park in California. This park features a stocked fishing lake, walking trails, tennis courts, frisbee golf course, sand volleyball court, shelter houses and playgrounds.
Lake Tauca
Lake Tauca was the largest lake on the Altiplano in the last 130,000, 120,000 or 100,000 years. Although the preceding paleolake (Minchin) was probably shallower, there is disagreement about the methods used to ascertain water depth. Some consider Minchin the larger lake; a 1985 paper estimated its size at , compared with Tauca's . Confusion may have resulted from the incorrect attribution of Tauca's shorelines to Lake Minchin; a shoreline at formerly attributed to Lake Minchin was dated to the Tauca phase at 13,790 BP. The theory that Tauca is the largest lake follows a deepening trend in the southern Altiplano paleolakes which contrasts with a decreasing trend in the level of Lake Titicaca during the Pleistocene. This pattern probably occurred because the threshold between the two basins progressively eroded, allowing water from Titicaca to flow into the southern Altiplano. The lakes left erosional benches, fan deltas (where the lakes interacted with ice) and lake-sediment deposits.
San Francisco, Cebu
Lake Danao is a freshwater lake located in the northern part of Pacijan Island, about long and wide, with an elevation of above sea level. Its area of makes it the largest lake not only in the province but also in the Visayas regions. It has two interior islands which can be reached by paddleboat or as part of the scenic lake cruise. An hiking and cycling trail encircles the entire perimeter of the lake. Although classifies as "freshwater", that doesn't necessarily make it suitable for irrigation. A 2015 study determined which crops could be sustained.
List of lakes in California
Among freshwater lakes entirely contained within the state, the largest by area is Clear Lake, which covers .
List of lakes in Oklahoma
Ranked by surface acres, Lake Eufaula is the 34th largest lake in the United States and Lake Texoma is the 38th largest.
Oroville Dam crisis
Oroville Dam, an important part of the California State Water Project, is an earthen embankment dam on the Feather River, east of the city of Oroville in Northern California. The dam is used for flood control, water storage, hydroelectric power generation, and water quality improvement in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. Completed in 1968, it is the tallest earthen dam in the United States, at . It impounds Lake Oroville, the second largest man-made lake in the state of California, capable of storing more than 3.5 million acre-feet (4.4 km). The adjacent Edward Hyatt Powerplant has six power-generating turbines with a total installed capacity of 819 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designated in 1870, and has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1963, and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966. The lake features grassy shores; several artificial islands intended as bird refuges; an interpretive center called the Rotary Nature Center; a boating center where sailboats, canoes and rowboats can be rented and classes are held; and a fairy tale themed amusement park called Children's Fairyland. A popular walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter. The circumference of the lake is and its area is .
List of rivers of California
The Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems drain the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and most of the Central Valley, forming the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta before emptying into Suisun Bay; together, they are the largest river system in California.
Note: In the Delta the Mokelumne River divides into two short branches, also called the "North Fork" and "South Fork", which recombine before reaching the San Joaquin River.Usually an endorheic basin, waters in this region all eventually would reach Tulare Lake. This region would overflow into the San Joaquin River during flood years when Tulare Lake overflowed. Streams are listed clockwise around the Tulare Basin, starting at the Kings River:Rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean between the Golden Gate and Point Arguello, arranged in order from north to south.
Lake Sherwood, California
Lake Sherwood is an unincorporated community in the Santa Monica Mountains, in Ventura County, California overlooking Lake Sherwood reservoir. It is a body contact lake, swimming, fishing, SUP and boating allowed, located south of the Conejo Valley and city of Thousand Oaks, and west of Westlake Village. The lake is naturally fed by thousand of acres of open-space, watershed mountains and natural springs.
Lake County wine
Half of the area contained within the boundaries of Clear Lake AVA is Clear Lake, the largest body of freshwater in the state of California, and the namesake for the county. The moderating influence of the lake on the surrounding area results in a climate with less diurnal variation in temperature than surrounding areas. Clear Lake AVA is one of the coolest climates in California, which has led to success with grape varietals like Sauvignon blanc.
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake, Laguna de Tache in Spanish, is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River and the second-largest freshwater lake entirely in the United States (as parts of the Great Lakes belong to Canada), based upon surface area. A remnant of Pleistocene-era Lake Corcoran, Tulare Lake dried up after its tributary rivers were diverted for agricultural irrigation and municipal water uses.
Lake Erie
Lake Erie () is the fourth-largest lake (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the eleventh-largest globally if measured in terms of surface area. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point Lake Erie is deep.
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere, and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its shallowness. For instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded size at 950 square miles (2,460 km²), but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of . In terms of surface area, it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the Great Lakes region.
Klamath Basin
Upper Klamath Lake is the largest present-day body of water in the Klamath River watershed, covering on average, with a shoreline of . It is also the largest freshwater lake in the state of Oregon. Historically, Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake were one interconnected freshwater marsh that totaled - more than twice the present-day dimensions of Upper Klamath Lake, and larger than Lake Tahoe in central California. This interconnected wetland still supports up to 3.7 million migrating birds per year. In wet years, the two lakes would connect to Upper Klamath Lake, forming one huge body of water. These lakes occupy the basin that was prehistorically occupied by Lake Modoc, a freshwater lake that covered the entire Upper Klamath Basin, or 7% of the watershed - an area three times larger than the massive Salton Sea in southern California. This lake existed up to 11,000 years ago at the end of the most recent ice age. Today, Upper Klamath Lake encompasses just 0.6% of the Klamath watershed.
Central Valley (California)
The "Central Valley grassland" is the Nearctic temperate and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrub lands ecoregion that was once a diverse grassland containing areas of desert grassland (at the southern end), prairie, savanna, riverside woodland, marsh, several types of seasonal vernal pools, and large lakes such as now-dry Tulare Lake (the largest lake in the United States west of the Mississippi), Buena Vista Lake and Kern Lake. However, much of the Central Valley environment has been removed or altered by human activity including the introduction of exotic plants, especially grasses. The oak woodlands and chaparral that fringe the valley have been categorized as the California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.
California State Route 53
SR 53 begins at California State Route 29 in the town of Lower Lake, near Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, primarily as a four-lane divided semi-rural expressway. The highway then heads northward along Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake located entirely in California. It bypasses the center of Clearlake, California, instead going through the neighborhood of the "Avenues". Once it crosses Lakeshore Drive, it narrows down to a two-lane highway until its northern terminus at California State Route 20 north of the city limits.
Pacific Tarn
Pacific Tarn is a small lake located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in the United States. It is notable for its 13,420 foot (4,090 m) elevation, making it the highest lake in the United States whose name is recognized by the United States Board on Geographic Names.
Lake Elsinore, California
Lake Elsinore, originally "Laguna Grande", is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California and is situated at the lowest point within the San Jacinto River watershed at the terminus of the San Jacinto River, where its headwaters are found on the western slopes of San Jacinto Peak with its North Fork, and Lake Hemet with its South Fork. Lake levels are healthy at above sea level with a volume of that often fluctuate, although much has been done recently to prevent the lake from drying up, flooding, or becoming stagnant. At , the lake would spill into the outflow channel on its northeastern shore, known properly as Temescal Wash, flowing northwest along I-15, which feeds Temescal Creek, which dumps into the Santa Ana River just northwest of the City of Corona. It then flows to Orange County, out to the Pacific Ocean just south of Huntington State Beach.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The MWD maintains three major water reservoirs. One is Lake Mathews located in southwest Riverside, California, with a capacity of of water. Another is Lake Skinner located south of Hemet in Riverside County, its capacity is of water. Diamond Valley Lake is their third and newest reservoir, with a capacity of of water. This capacity is over twice as large as that of Castaic Lake, the next largest reservoir in Southern California maintained by the state Department of Water Resources.
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron (and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia). To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the wide Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; the two are technically a single lake.
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S., with a maximum depth of , trailing Oregon's Crater Lake at . Tahoe is the 16th deepest lake in the world, and the fifth deepest in average depth. It is about long and wide and has of shoreline and a surface area of . The lake is so large that its surface is noticeably convex due to the curvature of the earth. At lake level the opposing shorelines are below the horizon at its widest parts; by nearly at its maximum width, and by some along its length. Visibility may vary somewhat with atmospheric refraction; when the air temperature is much greater than the lake temperature, looming may occur where the lake surface or opposing shoreline is lifted above the horizon. Fata Morgana may be responsible for Tahoe Tessie sightings.
Diamond Valley Lake
Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made off-stream reservoir located near Hemet, California, United States. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Southern California and also one of the newest. With a capacity of , the lake nearly doubled the area’s surface water storage capacity and provides additional water supplies for drought, peak summer, and emergency needs.
Laguna Niguel Lake
Laguna Niguel Lake, formerly known as Sulphur Creek Reservoir, is an artificial fishing and recreational lake in Laguna Niguel, California. It is created by the Sulphur Creek Dam, which was completed in 1966. It is located at and is above sea level. It is fed from two sources, one of which is Sulphur Creek itself and the other, a storm drain. It is accessed from La Paz Road, which runs along its east shore. Surrounding the reservoir is the Laguna Niguel Regional Park. In addition, within the lake on the large island is a protected bird sanctuary.
Blue Cypress Lake
Blue Cypress Lake, originally called Lake Wilmington, is a lake in Indian River County of the Treasure Coast in Florida. It is the largest lake in the Treasure Coast and Indian River County. It is the headwaters lake of the St. Johns River. The sources of water are several creeks from the south (Mudfish Slough, Padget Branch, Holman Canal, and Fisher Creek), two from the west (Trim Creek, Blue Cypress Creek), and Moonshine Bay from the North that flow into the lake. All the water flows out of the lake to the northwest into M Canal and Zigzag Canal. The lake is over 6,500 acres (26 km²) in size, 21 mi (34 km) in circumference, and has an average depth of 8 feet (2 m). The lake is 2,100 acres (8.7 km²) larger than Lake Washington, 27 mi (43 km) north of this lake. The lake's name comes from the blue appearance of the cypress trees as the morning sun's rays reflect off the water. A fishing camp called Middletons Fish Camp is 4 mi (6 km) off State Road 60. The Blue Cypress Village (about 70 units) is south of the small boat canal from the fish camp.
List of largest lakes of the United States by area
The following is a list of the largest 100 lakes of the United States by normal surface area. The top twenty lakes in size are as listed by the "National Atlas of the United States", a publication of the United States Department of the Interior. The area given is the normal or average area of the lake. The area of some lakes fluctuates substantially. For those lakes partially in Canada or Mexico the area given for the lake is the total area, not just the part of the lake in the United States. Of the top 100 lakes, 55 are man-made and 45 are natural. Three lakes in the top 100 are primarily salt water.
List of lakes in California
Geographic coordinates, approximate elevations, alternative names, and other details may be obtained by following the Geographic Names Information System links in the third column.
Note: Lakes grow and shrink due to precipitation, evaporation, releases, and diversions.
For this reason, many of the surface areas tabulated below are very approximate. 
For reservoirs, the areas at maximum water storage are indicated. Reservoirs used for flood control are seldom allowed to reach maximum storage.
List of largest reservoirs of California
This is a list of the largest reservoirs, or man-made lakes, in the U.S. state of California. All thirty-six reservoirs that contain over of water at maximum capacity are listed. This includes those formed by raising the level of natural lakes, such as at Lake Tahoe. Most large reservoirs in California are owned by the federal Bureau of Reclamation and to a lesser extent the Army Corps of Engineers, many serving the Central Valley Project or State Water Project. Smaller ones are often run by county water agencies or irrigation and flood control districts.
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through the northern Santa Ana Mountains via Santa Ana Canyon and flowing southwest through urban Orange County to drain into the Pacific Ocean. The Santa Ana River is long, and its drainage basin is in size.
Vincent Lugo Park
Vincent Lugo Park is a park located at 300 West Wells St., San Gabriel, CA 91776. It is the largest park in the city of San Gabriel, California. Park grounds include lighted youth baseball diamond, youth multi-purpose athletic field, Laguna de San Gabriel Nautical (Dinosaur) Playground, picnic tables, barbecues, restrooms and the Girl Scout House.
Lake Mead
Lake Mead is a lake on the Colorado River, about from the Las Vegas Strip, southeast of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. It is the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity. Formed by the Hoover Dam, the reservoir serves water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada, as well as some of Mexico providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland.
List of lakes in California
Lake Elsinore, which covers , is billed as the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California.
Raging Waters
Raging Waters is the name of three water theme parks located in Sacramento, San Dimas, and San Jose, California. They are the largest water parks in the state of California. The three parks are owned by Palace Entertainment but each contains different attractions. The three parks are generally closed during the winter months.
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is the principal river of Northern California in the United States, and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay. The river drains about in 19 California counties, mostly within the fertile agricultural region bounded by the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada known as the Sacramento Valley, but also extending as far as the volcanic plateaus of Northeastern California. Historically, its watershed has reached as far north as south-central Oregon where the now, primarily, endorheic (closed) Goose Lake rarely experiences southerly outflow into the Pit River, the most northerly tributary of the Sacramento.
San Gorgonio Mountain
Big Bear Lake, California is the largest city near San Gorgonio, and hosts two major ski resorts, as well as a popular summer get away for many southern Californians that utilize the lake for boating swimming, and fishing.
List of lakes in California
There are more than 3,000 named lakes, reservoirs, and dry lakes in the U.S. state of California.
Fallen Leaf Lake (California)
Fallen Leaf Lake is a mountain lake located in El Dorado County, California, near the California-Nevada state border, about one mile south west of the much larger Lake Tahoe. It is approximately aligned north-to-south and oval in shape, measuring approximately 2.9 miles (4.6 km) on the long axis and 0.9 miles (1.4 km) on the short axis. The lake was created by at least two glaciers that traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley. If the glacier had continued instead of stopping, Fallen Leaf Lake would be a bay of Lake Tahoe, similar to nearby Emerald Bay. A terminal moraine is visible at the north end of the lake on the northeast edge.
Big Bear Lake, California
Big Bear Lake is Southern California's largest recreation lake. It is about seven miles long and about one mile at its widest. The primary summer attraction in Big Bear was fishing and it still is one of the most common activities there. The most abundant types of fish are trout, bass and catfish. Hiking, mountain biking and horse riding are also very popular. San Bernardino National Forest offers many trails in varying degrees of difficulty. During winter season Big Bear Lake becomes a skiing and snowboarding destination for Southern California. There are two ski resorts: Snow Summit and Bear Mountain. The town is also home to the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, in operation since 1999.
Shasta–Trinity National Forest
The Shasta–Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The 2,210,485 acre (894,552 Ha) forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of streams and rivers. Major features include Shasta Lake, the largest man-made lake in California and Mount Shasta, elevation .
Bon Tempe Lake
Bon Tempe Lake is a reservoir in Marin County, California. It is the widest lake in the watershed, and on Lagunitas Creek. Beneath its dam is Alpine Lake. Fishing and hiking are activities around the lake. Rainbow trout and both largemouth and smallmouth bass are caught in the lake.
New River (Mexico–United States)
The New River channel begins at a volcanic lake near Cerro Prieto. Today this lake feeds the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station. The river flows north through Baja California and another through California into the Salton Sea, the largest lake in California. Flow at the border is approximately , and about three times more at the Salton Sea because of agricultural runoff collected along the way.
Shasta Lake
Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United States.
Raging Waters
Raging Waters opened June 18, 1983, located in Los Angeles County in the city of San Dimas, near SR 57 between Interstate 10 and Interstate 210. Park officials described it as California's largest water park in 2011.
Lake Nacimiento
Lake Nacimiento is an long lake on the Nacimiento River in northern San Luis Obispo County, California. The lake contains many arms including Snake Creek and Dip Creek, nearer the dam, and the central Las Tablas and Franklin Creeks. Because of the dragon-like shape created by the positions of these arms, it is sometimes referred to as "Dragon Lake". The lake can fill quickly in the winter from river surges resulting from downpours upstream in the Santa Lucia Range so the level is not usually allowed to capacity until May 1 of each year.
Riverside, California
As the city prospered, a small guest hotel designed in the popular Mission Revival style, known as the Glenwood Tavern, eventually grew to become the Mission Inn, which was favored by presidents, royalty and movie stars. Inside was housed a special chair made for the sizable President William Howard Taft. The hotel was modeled after the missions left along the California coast by Franciscan friars in the 18th and 19th centuries. (Although Spanish missionaries came as far inland as San Bernardino (San Bernardino de Sena Estancia), east of Riverside, there was no actual Spanish mission in what is now Riverside.) Postcards of lush orange groves, swimming pools and magnificent homes have attracted vacationers and entrepreneurs throughout the years. Many relocated to the warm, dry climate for reasons of health and to escape Eastern winters. Victoria Avenue, with its scattering of elegant turn-of-the-century homes, and citrus-lined paseo, serves as a reminder of European investors who settled here.
Riverside is the 59th largest city in the United States, 12th largest city in California, and the largest city in California's Inland Empire metro area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.37%) is water. The elevation of downtown Riverside is . Hills within the city limits include Mount Rubidoux, a city landmark and tourist attraction. Riverside is surrounded by small and large mountains, some of which get a dusting of winter snow. Many residents also enjoy the many beaches of southern California. Riverside is about a 47-mile drive to the Pacific Ocean and is close to Orange county and Los Angeles county .
History of California 1900–present
The California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) operates and maintains the California Aqueduct, including the two largest pumped-storage hydroelectric plants in California, Castaic and Gianelli. Gianelli is located at the base of San Luis Dam, which forms San Luis Reservoir, the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States. The Castaic Power Plant is located at the northern end of Castaic Lake, while Castaic Dam is located at the southern end.
Big Lagoon (California)
Big Lagoon is the southernmost and largest of three similar lagoons within Humboldt Lagoons State Park, along the coast of Humboldt County, California.
Clear Lake AVA
The Clear Lake AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Lake County, California. 
Half of the area contained within the boundaries of the AVA is Clear Lake, the largest body of freshwater in the state of California, and the namesake for the county. The moderating influence of the lake on the surrounding area results in a climate with less diurnal variation in temperature than surrounding areas. Clear Lake AVA is one of the coolest climates in California, which has led to success with grape varietals like Sauvignon blanc.
Lake Elsinore
Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. With its own 750-mi (1,900-km) watershed, it is situated at the lowest point within the San Jacinto River watershed of , at the terminus of the San Jacinto River. It is the terminal lake of a partially closed basin called the San Jacinto Basin.
Mammoth Lakes, California
Mammoth Lakes' economy is primarily tourism-based. For example, Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort is the top ski destination in California. A 13% tax is added to the rental of any lodging facility and campgrounds for stays of less than a month. There are more than 4,599 rental units in Mammoth Lakes and the lodging industry generates around two-thirds of the gross revenue of the Town of Mammoth Lakes. As well as the pull from winter extreme sports, Mammoth Lakes also benefits greatly from tourism in the summer from people who visit to camp, hike and fish.
Lake County, California
Within Lake County are two incorporated cities, the county seat of Lakeport and Clearlake, the largest city, and the communities of Kelseyville, Blue Lakes, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake Park, Cobb, Finley, Glenhaven, Hidden Valley Lake, Clearlake Riviera, Loch Lomond, Lower Lake, Lucerne, Middletown, Nice, Spring Valley, Upper Lake, Whispering Pines, and Witter Springs.
Alkali Lakes (California)
Middle Alkali Lake is the largest by both surface area and drainage area. The total catchment of Middle Alkali Lake is . Creeks flowing into the lake include Sand, Fortymile, Cedar, Deep, Granger, Milk, Cottonwood, Owl and Raider Creeks. Between Middle and Lower Alkali Lakes there is a smaller lake called Cambron Lake, fed by Highrock and Eagle Creeks.
Lake California, California
The 2010 United States Census reported that Lake California had a population of 3,054. The population density was 460.8 people per square mile (177.9/km²). The racial makeup of Lake California was 2,751 (90.1%) White, 11 (0.4%) African American, 81 (2.7%) Native American, 31 (1.0%) Asian, 6 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 55 (1.8%) from other races, and 119 (3.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 251 persons (8.2%).
Clear Lake (California)
Clear Lake is a natural freshwater lake in Lake County in the U.S. state of California, north of Napa County and San Francisco. It is the largest natural freshwater lake wholly within the state, with of surface area. At 480,000 years, it is the oldest lake in North America. It is the latest lake to occupy a site with a history of lakes stretching back at least 2,500,000 years.
Laguna de Bay
The Spanish word "Laguna" refers to not just lagoons but also for freshwater lakes, aside from "lago". Some examples of the worldwide usage of "laguna" for lakes include Laguna Chicabal in Guatemala, Laguna de Gallocanta in Spain, Laguna Catemaco in Mexico and Laguna de Leche, the largest lake in Cuba. The lake's alternate name, "Laguna Lake", refers to the Province of Laguna, the province at the southern shore of the lake. Laguna province, though, was named because of the large lake and was originally called "La Laguna" till the early 20th century.
Laguna Niguel, California
The main watercourses in Laguna Niguel are Salt Creek, which flows through the southern part of the city, and Sulphur Creek, which drains much of the northern half. Sulphur Creek is a tributary of Aliso Creek, which flows through the wide and deep Aliso Canyon before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Laguna Niguel Lake, formed by damming Sulphur Creek, is the largest body of water in the city. Although Laguna Niguel is located very close to the Pacific, it does not border it, the result of a controversy over the coastline with Dana Point in 1989 (see #History).
Lake Champlain Transportation Company
Lake Champlain is the thirteenth-largest lake in the United States, reaching a maximum width of and depths of more than . As such, there is no bridging of the "broad lake" north of Crown Point, New York, and south of the Rouses Point-Alburg-Swanton crossing near the Canada–United States border, though bridging of the lake near Plattsburgh has been proposed. The ferry service allows convenient transport across the lake between New York and Vermont. Approximately one million passengers cross the lake by ferry each year.
Lake Murray (Oklahoma)
Lake Murray is a lake in south central Oklahoma, near Ardmore named for Oklahoma Governor William H. Murray. It was created by damming Anadarche and Fourche Maline Creeks. The lake is wholly within Lake Murray State Park, Oklahoma's largest state park, containing over 12,500 acres (51 km²) of relative wilderness. A state-operated lodge and resort is located on the west shore that serves many visitors to the lake, and serves as a base for numerous cabin and campground facilities near the lake.
Oroville–Thermalito Complex
Lake Oroville is the second largest reservoir in California, and stores winter and spring runoff which is released into the Feather River at controlled intervals to meet the Project's needs. It also provides pumped-storage capacity, of flood control storage, recreation, and freshwater releases to control salinity intrusion in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and for fish and wildlife protection. The Lake is perhaps the most important of all the Oroville Complex facilities, being that it serves as the headwater of the entire State Water Project.
Clear Lake (California)
Archaeologists believe that the Clear Lake basin has been occupied by Native Americans for at least 11,000 years. (See: Post Pattern.) Evidence of this has been found at nearby Borax Lake and on Rattlesnake Island in the lake's south arm. Abundant fish, game and waterbirds made Clear Lake an oasis in the otherwise harsh conditions of Northern California's mountains. The native Clear Lake Hitch ("Lavinia exilicauda"), was once so abundant that millions of hitch clogged the lake's feeder streams in dry months. When the Spanish missionaries came to California, they found that thousands of Native Americans lived in the Clear Lake Basin, primarily Pomo, Yuki, and Wappo with some Lake Miwok.
Big Bear Lake, California
In contrast to most of southern California, the Big Bear Lake region normally receives significant winter snow because of its high elevation. Snowfall, as measured at lake level, averages per season; upwards of can accumulate on the forested ridges bordering the lake, at elevations above . In February 1990, of snow were recorded. The most snow in 24 hours was on March 27, 1991. The greatest snow depth was on February 3, 1979. Snow has fallen in every month except July and August. There are normally 18 days each year with measurable snow of or more.The 2010 United States Census reported that Big Bear Lake had a population of 5,019. The population density was 768.1 people per square mile (296.6/km). The racial makeup of Big Bear Lake was 4,204 (83.8%) White, (73.3% Non-Hispanic White), 22 (0.4%) African American, 48 (1.0%) Native American, 78 (1.6%) Asian, 10 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 491 (9.8%) from other races, and 166 (3.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,076 persons (21.4%).
Pyramid Lake (Los Angeles County, California)
Pyramid Lake is the deepest lake in the California Water Project system, built up along the steep canyon walls surrounding Piru Creek.
California
To the east of the Sierra Nevada are Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential migratory bird habitat. In the western part of the state is Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake by area entirely in California. Although Lake Tahoe is larger, it is divided by the California/Nevada border. The Sierra Nevada falls to Arctic temperatures in winter and has several dozen small glaciers, including Palisade Glacier, the southernmost glacier in the United States.
Big Bear Lake, California
Since 1970, Big Bear Lake has held its annual Oktoberfest. The Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest also sports the highest beer garden, by elevation, in the United States. Big Bear Lake was incorporated as a city on November 28, 1980.
San Luis Reservoir
The San Luis Reservoir is an artificial lake on San Luis Creek in the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range of Merced County, California, approximately west of Los Banos on State Route 152, which crosses Pacheco Pass and runs along its north shore. It is the fifth largest reservoir in California. The reservoir stores water taken from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. Water is pumped uphill into the reservoir from the O'Neill Forebay which is fed by the California Aqueduct and is released back into the forebay to continue downstream along the aqueduct as needed for farm irrigation and other uses. Depending on water levels, the reservoir is approximately nine miles long from north to south at its longest point, and five miles (8 km) wide. At the eastern end of the reservoir is the San Luis Dam, or the B.F. Sisk Dam, the fourth largest embankment dam in the United States, which allows for a total capacity of .
California protected areas
California has 17 U.S. National Forests, one special management unit (Lake Tahoe) and parts of 3 other National Forests. Total combined area of the forests is and covers over 19% of the state. The largest forest entirely within the state is Shasta-Trinity National Forest, at , the smallest is Cleveland National Forest at . The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is not precisely a national forest in the conventional sense. Instead the Forest Service manages the land with particular attention paid to Lake Tahoe and its relationship with the forests surrounding it, with emphasis on erosion control management and watershed restoration, among other more conventional forest management activities. It is the smallest of the Forest Service units in California, with in its jurisdiction split between California and Nevada.
Huntington Lake
Huntington Lake was constructed in 1912 as a part of the enormous Big Creek Hydroelectric Project envisioned by John S. Eastwood to provide power for a growing California. The lake was named for Henry Edwards Huntington, the railroad magnate who financed the earliest work to develop the Big Creek project which includes a system of lakes, tunnels, steel penstocks and power houses.
Four dams form the lake, which has a capacity of and a surface area of . There were originally three dams, completed in 1913, but a fourth dam, completed in 1919, was built to increase the lake's capacity. The other three dams were raised and covered with concrete. 
State Route 168 passes along the east shore of the lake where China Peak, a ski resort, is located.
Coatepeque Caldera
Lake Coatepeque (Lago de Coatepeque) is a large crater lake in the east part of the Coatepeque Caldera. It is in Coatepeque municipality, Santa Ana, El Salvador. There are hot springs near the lake margins. At , it is one of the largest lakes in El Salvador. In the lake is the island of Teopan, which was a Mayan site of some importance.n/a
Houseboat
Houseboating on Lake Powell is a popular vacation option since the Glen Canyon Dam impounds water from the Colorado River to form almost of shoreline. Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake in North America, about 30 minutes from Las Vegas, New Bullards Bar Reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 45 minutes from Nevada City, California, and Lake Shasta in the mountains just outside Redding, California, are also popular spots for houseboats. Four rivers or "arms" merge to create this: the Sacramento, McCloud, Squaw Creek, and Pit. Shasta Dam, the highest center spillway dam in the world, can be found at the southwest corner of the lake. Lake Shasta Caverns, can only be reached from the lake.
Lake Corcoran
Lake Corcoran (also known as Lake Clyde, after Clyde Wahrhaftig, an American geophysicist) is an ancient lake that covered the Central Valley of California.