Lake Sonoma

Infobox lake
lake_name = Lake Sonoma
image_lake = Sonoma Lake aerial view.jpg
caption_lake = The lake, just behind the Warm Springs Dam, which is to the right of this view
image_bathymetry = Lake_Sonoma_Map.gif
caption_bathymetry =
location = Sonoma County, California
coords = coord|38|43|05|N|123|00|34|W|type:waterbody_region:US-CA_source:GNIS|display=inline,title
type = reservoir
inflow = Dry Creek
outflow = Dry Creek
catchment = convert|130|sqmi|km2|-1|abbr=on
basin_countries = United States
length = convert|5.7|mi|km|0|abbr=on
width =
area = 2,700 acres (11 km²)
depth =
max-depth =
volume = convert|381000|acre.ft|km3|abbr=on|lk=on
residence_time =
shore = convert|50|mi|km|0
elevation = convert|200|ft|m
islands =
cities =
frozen =
reference = cite web|url=http://damsafety.water.ca.gov/docs/Federal_5-07.pdf|title=Dams Owned and Operated by Federal Agencies|accessdate=2008-01-04] gnis|234892|Lake Sonoma]

Lake Sonoma is a reservoir west of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., created by the construction of Warm Springs Dam. Access from U.S. Route 101 is by way of Dry Creek Road from Healdsburg.

The lake provides water for countywide growth and development, and for recreation. At full capacity, it has convert|50|mi|km|0 of shoreline, a surface area of more than convert|2700|acre|km2|0, and holds 381,000 acre-feet (470,000,000 m³) of water. Activities include boating, swimming, fishing, riding, hiking, camping, and hunting.cite web|url=http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/lakesonoma/index.htm|title=Lake Sonoma: Welcome|publisher=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] Notable features include the Milt Brandt Visitor Center, and the adjacent Congressman Don Clausen Fish Hatchery, and the Warm Springs Recreation Area below the dam.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Warm Springs Dam across Dry Creek. Completed in 1982, this rolled-earth embankment dam is convert|319|ft|m|0|abbr=on high, convert|3000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on long, and convert|30|ft|m|0|abbr=on wide at the top. It contains convert|30000000|cuyd|m3|-6|abbr=on of earth. The dam aids in flood control, and a hydroelectric plant produces electricity from the water released downstream. A minimum amount of flow must be maintained in Dry Creek to allow fish migration.
Pomo people had lived in the Dry Creek area since at least the 1700s, and some of them resisted the creation of the lake. Archaeologists at Sonoma State University have written about the prehistory and history of Warm Springs Dam, Lake Sonoma, and the Dry Creek Valley. [cite web|url=http://www.sonoma.edu/asc/projects/WarmSprings/index.html|title=Before Warm Springs Dam|publisher=Sonoma State University Anthropological Studies Center] .

References

ee also

*Lake Mendocino
*List of lakes in California
*List of lakes in the San Francisco Bay Area
*List of reservoirs and dams in California