Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake
Location	Shasta County, California
Coordinates	40°43′N 122°27′W
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Sacramento River, Pit River, McCloud River
Primary outflows	Sacramento River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	35 mi (56 km)
Surface area	30,000 acres (120 km2)
Max. depth	517 ft (158 m)
Water volume	4,552,000 acre⋅ft (5.615 km3)
Shore length1	365 mi (587 km)
Surface elevation	1,067 ft (325 m)
Settlements	Lakehead
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

For the city, see Shasta Lake, California.

Shasta Lake is a reservoir created by the building of Shasta Dam in California, USA. It is the largest reservoir in California, and third largest lake in the state, after Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea, with a capacity of 4,552,000 acre-feet (5.6 km³). At full pool, the lake has an elevation of 1,067 feet (325 m), and a surface area of 30,000 acres (120 km²).

Ten miles (16 km) north of the city of Redding, with the town of Lakehead its northern shores, Shasta Lake is popular for boating, water skiing, camping, house boating, and fishing. Formed by the damming of the Sacramento River, Pit River, McCloud River and several smaller tributaries, the lake boasts 365 miles (587 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita. The maximum depth is 517 feet (158 m).

Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945, while the lake was formed in 1948. It became the second largest dam, and tallest concrete dam in the USA. Known as the keystone of the Central Valley Project, outflow from Shasta Dam provides electricity and irrigation for widespread areas of California below the dam as well as flood control for the Sacramento River during the rainy season. Beneath the lake is the submerged town of Kennett, California, defunct tunnels and right of way of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, parts of which can be seen when the water level is low.

External links

• Shasta Lake Pictures
• Information about recreation on Shasta Lake