The Kings River, historically called Wimmel-che by the Yokuts, is a 132.9-mile (213.9 km) river draining the Sierra Nevada mountain range in central California in the United States. Its headwaters originate along the Sierra Crest in and around Kings Canyon National Park and form the eponymous Kings Canyon, one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The river is impounded in Pine Flat Lake before flowing into the San Joaquin Valley southeast of Fresno. With its upper and middle course in Fresno County, the Kings River diverges into multiple branches in Kings County, with some water flowing south to the old Tulare Lake bed and the rest flowing north to the San Joaquin River. However, most of the water is consumed for irrigation well upstream of either point.
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about 73 miles (117 km) long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over 210 miles (340 km). The main stem Feather River begins in Lake Oroville, where its four long tributary forks join—the South Fork, Middle Fork, North Fork, and West Branch Feather Rivers. These and other tributaries drain part of the northern Sierra Nevada, and the extreme southern Cascades, as well as a small portion of the Sacramento Valley. The total drainage basin is about 6,200 square miles (16,000 km2), with approximately 3,604 square miles (9,330 km2) above Lake Oroville.
John Samuel Eastwood was an American engineer who built the world's first reinforced concrete multiple-arch dam on bedrock foundation at Hume Lake, California, in 1908, and was one of California's pioneers of hydroelectric power production. Eastwood's papers are held at the Water Resources Collections and Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Big Creek is a 19.3-mile-long (31.1 km) tributary of the San Joaquin River in the Sierra Nevada, within the Sierra National Forest, central California.
Castaic Lake is a reservoir formed by Castaic Dam on Castaic Creek, in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, near the town of Castaic.
Salt Springs Reservoir is a reservoir in the eastern portions of Amador County and Calaveras County of California in the Sierra Nevada about 30 miles (48 km) east-northeast of Jackson. The reservoir is in the Eldorado National Forest at an elevation of 3,900 feet (1,200 m).
Union Valley Reservoir is a reservoir in eastern El Dorado County, California, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Placerville. The 277,000 acre-feet (342,000,000 m3) lake is in Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 4,870 feet (1,480 m).
Loon Lake is a reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest of El Dorado County, California, United States. The 76,200 acre⋅ft (94,000,000 m3) lake is formed by Loon Lake Dam, completed in 1963 as part of the Upper American River Project 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 at 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 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.
Mammoth Pool Dam is a hydroelectric dam located on the San Joaquin River in the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, about 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Fresno. It forms Mammoth Pool Reservoir and lies within the Sierra National Forest. The dam and reservoir were named after a large natural pool in the river that was once located above the present dam site.
Caliraya Dam is an embankment dam located in the town of Lumban province of Laguna, in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range of the Philippines. The reservoir created by the dam, Lake Caliraya, initially supplied one of the oldest hydroelectric plants in the Philippines, and later became a popular recreational area for numerous water sports and fishing. The dam's construction was started in 1939 under the supervision of the architecture firm of Pedro Siochi and Company and a small hydroelectric plant was operated in 1942.
New Don Pedro Dam, often known simply as Don Pedro Dam, is an earthen embankment dam across the Tuolumne River, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of La Grange, in Tuolumne County, California. The dam was completed in 1971, after four years of construction, to replace the 1924 concrete-arch Don Pedro Dam.
The North Fork Kings River is a 40.3-mile (64.9 km) tributary of the Kings River, in the U.S. state of California. The river's main stem is entirely within Fresno County, and its watershed drains about 387 square miles (1,000 km2) of the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range.
The Helms Pumped Storage Plant is located 50 mi (80 km) east of Fresno, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range's Sierra National Forest. It is a power station that uses Helms Creek canyon on the North Fork of the Kings River for off-river water storage and the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity. After being planned in the early 1970s, construction on the plant began in June 1977 and commercial operations began on 30 June 1984. It has an installed capacity of 1,212 MW and is owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The Vianden Pumped Storage Plant is located just north of Vianden in Diekirch District, Luxembourg. The power plant uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity and serves as a peaking power plant. Its lower reservoir is located on the Our River, bordering Germany, and the upper is elevated above on the nearby Saint Nicholas Mountain. Construction on the plant began in 1959 and the first pump-generators were commissioned in 1962. A tenth pump-generator was installed in 1976 bringing the plant's installed generating capacity to 1,096 megawatts (1,470,000 hp). The plant generates an average of 1,650 gigawatt-hours (5,900 TJ) annually but of course consumes even more. Generally the efficiency of this energy storage method is around 70–80%. The plant is owned by Société électrique de l'Our and RWE. Construction on an eleventh pump-generator began in 2010 and it is expected to be commissioned in 2013, which will bring the plant's installed capacity to 1,296 megawatts (1,738,000 hp).
The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The use and reuse of the waters of the San Joaquin River, its South Fork, and the namesake of the project, Big Creek – over a vertical drop of 6,200 ft (1,900 m) – have over the years inspired a nickname, "The Hardest Working Water in the World".
Wishon Dam is a dam in Fresno County, California in the Sierra National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It impounds the North Fork Kings River to form Wishon Reservoir.
The Yuba–Bear Hydroelectric Project is a complex hydroelectric scheme in the northern Sierra Nevada in California, tapping the upper Yuba River and Bear River drainage basins. The project area encompasses approximately 400 square miles (1,000 km2) in Nevada, Placer, and Sierra Counties. Owned by the Nevada Irrigation District, it consists of 16 storage dams plus numerous diversion and regulating dams, and four generating stations producing 425 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. The Yuba–Bear Hydroelectric Project consists of the Bowman development, Dutch Flat No. 2 development, Chicago Park development, and Rollins development.
The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Helms Creek is a tributary of the North Fork Kings River in Fresno County, California. The stream drains a remote mountainous part of the Sierra National Forest. The Courtright Dam on Helms Creek forms the 123,300-acre-foot (152,100,000 m3) Courtright Reservoir, which is the upper reservoir for the Helms Pumped Storage Plant.
Moccasin Dam is a small dam on Moccasin Creek in Tuolumne County, California, in the town of Moccasin, west of Yosemite. It holds the Moccasin Reservoir. The dam, reservoir and associated hydroelectric power plant are part of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which provide water and power to the city of San Francisco. The dam is located near the junction of Highway 120 and Highway 49.
