Lake McClure

Lake McClure
This is a beautiful lake
Location	Mariposa County, California
Coordinates	37°39′32″N 120°15′14″W / 37.659°N 120.254°W / 37.659; -120.254Coordinates: 37°39′32″N 120°15′14″W / 37.659°N 120.254°W / 37.659; -120.254
Lake type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Merced River
Primary outflows	Merced River
Basin countries	United States
Water volume	1,032,000 acre·ft (1.273×109 m3)

Lake McClure is a artificial lake in western Mariposa County, California, about 40 miles (64 km) east of Modesto. It is formed by New Exchequer Dam on the Merced River, a tributary of the San Joaquin River, and its capacity is 1,032,000 acre·ft (1.273×10⁹ m³). It is a rock-fill dam with a reinforced concrete face and was completed in 1967. It is owned by the Merced Irrigation District, which supplies northern Merced County farms with water for irrigation through its 750 mile (1200 km) network of canals. At the base of the dam is a hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 94.5 MW.

Besides storing water for irrigation, the lake also provides opportunities for recreation. Only a small amount of water from the lake is used for drinking water and human contact is allowed. Activities available include boating, water skiing, fishing and camping. There is a full service marina at the lake as well.

McSwain Dam, about 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream from New Exchequer Dam, was built at the same time and creates Lake McSwain. The lake is a regulating reservoir for releases from Lake McClure. It has a capacity of 9,700 acre feet (12,000,000 m³), about one percent of the capacity of Lake McClure. There is a hydroelectric plant at the dam with a capacity of 9 MW.

The original Exchequer Dam, built between 1924 and 1926, was a concrete gravity arch dam and created a reservoir with a capacity of 281,000 acre·ft (347,000,000 m³), which was called Exchequer Reservoir until 1926, when its name was changed to Lake McClure to honor W.F. McClure, a California State Engineer. New Exchequer Dam was built to increase the reservoir's capacity.

See also

• List of largest reservoirs of California

References

• Merced Irrigation District
• United States Geological Survey
• Information about recreation on Lake McClure

• United States Bureau of ReclamationPDF (76.4 KiB)