Pyramid Dam

Pyramid Dam

Pyramid Dam with Pyramid Lake is a part of the California Aqueduct, as is its neighboring Castaic Lake and dam which lies seven miles (10 km) south. Located in northern Los Angeles County, California USA north of Castaic and south of Gorman it is the smaller - relatively speaking - of the two large artificial water storage facilities in the area.

Construction of the dam was made possible by California voter approval in 1960 of the California Aqueduct project, also referred to as the Feather River project (the source of the water in the northern part of the state north of Auburn). State bonds were issued to finance the project. Pyramid Dam, which first began construction in 1968, is 386 feet (118 m) high. It lies directly behind the mountain rock giving the dam and lake its name - Pyramid Cut - which before the Ridge Route Alternate (later signed as U.S. Route 99) was built through the area in the 1931 to 1933 time period, was just another ordinary mountain. The highway construction of the Ridge Route Alternate caused this mountain to have part of its mass "shaved" off - reduced in size - and after the work to accommodate highway traffic was finished, the shape of the cut was found to resemble a pyramid, and hence the name.

Pyramid Dam holds 171,196 acre feet (217,167,000 m³) of water, covering an area of 1,297 acres (5.25 km²). Its maximum capacity is 180,000 acre feet (222,000,000 m³) of water. The lake behind the dam, shaped like a "Triceratops" tooth, has been used for boating, swimming and camping since 1974. The dam and lake were built by the state of California Department of Water Resources (DWR), who maintains them today. The water stored there serves residents, businesses and farmers in Ventura County and LA County.

During the construction of Pyramid Dam, US 99 vehicle traffic was rerouted to Interstate 5 beginning in 1968. In the 1968-9 time period, motorists could still drive US 99 from Violin Summit to Hungry Valley Road (since renamed Smokey Bear Road). After completion of the dam in 1970 Feather River water began to fill the area behind the dam, a plan conceived of even before the construction of the Ridge Route Alternate. By 1972 the Ridge Route Alternate was fully submerged under the lake's water. Since then, its southern border with the lake continues to serve as a boat ramp. The lake's northern border portion of US 99 is closed to motorists.

ee also

*List of reservoirs and dams in California
*U.S. Route 99

External links

*cite web | author = Jerry Reynolds |url= http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/signal/reynolds/part68.html | title=History of the Santa Clarita Valley | publisher= Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society | accessdate=2002-02-04
* [http://www.scvresources.com/highways/us_99/us99031.htm US 99 - Piru Gorge: Pyramid Rock and Dam]
*Geolinks-US-buildingscale|34.644133|-118.763800


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pyramid Lake (California) — Infobox lake lake name = Pyramid Lake image lake = Lake Castaic pano.jpg caption lake = image bathymetry = caption bathymetry = location = Los Angeles County, California coords = coord|34|39|18.48|N|118|46|29.99|W|type:waterbody region:US… …   Wikipedia

  • Dam — /dam, dahm/, n. (Carl Peter) Henrik /kahrl pee ter hen rik/; Dan. /kahrddl pay teuhrdd hen rddik/, 1895 1976, Danish biochemist: Nobel prize for medicine 1943. * * * I Barrier built across a stream, river, or estuary to conserve water for such… …   Universalium

  • Pyramid Lake (Nevada) — Infobox lake lake name = Pyramid Lake image lake = Pyramid lake sat.jpg caption lake = View from space (September 1994) image bathymetry = caption bathymetry = coords = coord|40|0|N|119|30|W|type:waterbody region:US NV|display=inline,title type …   Wikipedia

  • dam — dam1 /dam/, n., v., dammed, damming. n. 1. a barrier to obstruct the flow of water, esp. one of earth, masonry, etc., built across a stream or river. 2. a body of water confined by a dam. 3. any barrier resembling a dam. v.t. 4. to furnish with a …   Universalium

  • Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation — The Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in northwestern Nevada in the United States. It lies approximately 35 miles northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon Counties. It is governed by the Pyramid Lake Paiute… …   Wikipedia

  • Pyramid of El Pueblito — The Pyramid of El Pueblito, known as El Cerrito (little hill) to those living in its immediate surroundings, is an archaeological site in the Mexican State of Querétaro, in the settlement of El Pueblito , seat of the municipality of Corregidora.… …   Wikipedia

  • Egyptian pyramid construction techniques — There have been many hypotheses about the Egyptian pyramid construction techniques. The construction techniques seem to have developed over time; the earliest pyramids were built in different ways than later ones. Most of the construction… …   Wikipedia

  • Castaic Dam — is a dam near the city of Castaic, California. It is an earth fill dam, though its surfaces are covered with boulders and cobble sized rocks to prevent erosion. Although located on Castaic Creek and forming Castaic Lake, Castaic Creek provides… …   Wikipedia

  • Risks to the Glen Canyon Dam — Glen Canyon Dam viewed from inside lower Glen Canyon The Glen Canyon Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, has been associated with a large amount of risk, most notably the risk of its siltation and failure …   Wikipedia

  • Davis Dam — Official name Davis Dam Location Clark County, Nevada / Mohave County, Arizona, USA …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”