- Don Pedro Dam
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Don Pedro Dam 
Old Don Pedro Dam and reservoir, circa 1925Official name Old Don Pedro Dam Location Tuolumne County, California Coordinates 37°42′45″N 120°24′07″W / 37.7125°N 120.4020°W Opening date 1924 Demolition date 1971 Dam and spillways Type of dam Concrete thick arch/gravity Height 283 ft (86 m) Length 1,000 ft (300 m) Crest width 16 ft (4.9 m) Base width 170 ft (52 m) Impounds Tuolumne River Reservoir Creates Don Pedro Reservoir Capacity 290,400 acre·ft (358,200,000 m3) Power station Type Yes Turbines 4 Installed capacity 15 KW Maximum capacity 30 KW The Don Pedro Dam, since 1971 also known as the Old Don Pedro Dam, was a dam across the Tuolumne River in Tuolumne County, California. The structure is currently flooded underneath Don Pedro Reservoir, which is formed by the New Don Pedro Dam.
It was a solid concrete gravity dam that was 283 ft (86 m) high, 1,000 ft (300 m) wide, 16 ft (4.9 m) thick at the crest, and 170 ft (52 m) thick at the base. It was completed in 1923 where the Tuolumne River had carved a narrow gorge with walls of solid rock about a mile (2 km) below Don Pedro Bar. The reservoir created by this dam contained 290,400 acre·ft (358,200,000 m3) of water when full, 14.3% of today's capacity.
A 15 kilowatt power plant was part of the dam's original design, and two more 7500 watt generators were added in 1926 for 30 kilowatts total, just 0.015% of today's capacity. The old dam still exists about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) upstream from the new 1971 dam, and since the old dam topped out at just 580 ft (180 m) above sea level it is now under some 250 ft (76 m) of water when the new reservoir is full.
References
- Dwight H. Barnes. "Chapter 12: The First Don Pedro". The Greening of Paradise Valley, The First 100 Years of the Modesto Irrigation District. Modesto Irrigation District. http://www.mid.org/about/100-years/chpt_12.htm. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- Richard W. Amero (June 30, 2000). Lessons from Hetch Hetchy. http://www.balboaparkhistory.net/glimpses/hetchy.htm. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- Sukhwant Virk; Josh Hinkey (Friday, 31 August 2007). "Don Pedro Dam: General Information". University of Califonria, Davis. http://cee.engr.ucdavis.edu/faculty/lund/dams/Don%20Pedro/donpedro.htm#General%20Information. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- Department of Water Resources (2009). "Station Meta Data: Don Pedro Reservoir (DNP)". California Data Exchange Center. State of California. http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/stationInfo?station_id=DNP. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
External links
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Tuolumne County, California
- Dams in California
- Hydroelectric power plants in California
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