Loon Lake (California)

Infobox lake
lake_name = Loon Lake
image_lake = Loon_Lake_Hydro.jpg
caption_lake = Loon Lake Hydroelectric Power Facility
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location = El Dorado National Forest, California
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type = reservoir
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basin_countries = United States
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Loon Lake Reservoir is a 76,200 acre-foot (94,000,000 m³) reservoir in the El Dorado National Forest in Northern California in the United States. It is formed by Loon Lake Dam, completed in 1963 by Sacramento Municipal Utility District to conserve spring snow melt runoff for use during the summer and autumn for hydroelectric power production. Loon Lake Dam impounds water near the headwaters of Gerle Creek which, prior to the dam, flowed intermittently through (natural) Loon and Pleasant Lakes. But most of the water now stored in Loon Lake Reservoir arrives from Buck Island Reservoir in the adjacent Rubicon River watershed by way of the Buck-Loon Tunnel. Nearby is Loon Lake Chalet, a popular winter recreation destination. In summer, a boat ramp for water sports and camping are available, but the area is less popular than nearby Union Valley Reservoir and Rubicon Trail.

It is popularly referred to as Loon Lake, although strictly speaking this is the name of the former lake now inundated by the dam. Boaters still refer to the northeast portion of the reservoir as the Pleasant Lake Arm, the portion over the inundated Pleasant Lake.

Loon Lake Dam is a rockfill structure that is convert|0.4|mi|km long by convert|108|ft|m high. It includes a convert|250|ft|m|sing=on long side channel spillway on the right bank, a convert|910|ft|m|sing=on long by 95 foot high rockfill auxiliary dam, and an earthfill dike. Construction of the present dam began in 1962 with the dismantling of an older dam at the same site, constructed before 1910.

References

* [http://ca.water.usgs.gov Information about USGS station 11429500]
* [http://hydrorelicensing.smud.org Repository of federal licensing documents]