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Silver Creek (American River)
Silver Creek is a major tributary of the South Fork American River in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It begins below the dam of Junction Reservoir where its two main tributaries meet — South Fork Silver Creek and Big Silver Creek. River Modifications There are three reservoirs, all part of the Upper American River Project, along Silver Creek and its tributaries before the main stem empties into the South Fork American River just north of Pollock Pines. Ice House Reservoir lies along South Fork Silver Creek four miles northwest of Kyburz. Nine miles northwest of Kyburz is Union Valley Reservoir, the river project's principal reservoir. Three tributaries flow into Union House Reservoir, including Big Silver Creek, Jones Fork Silver Creek, and Tells Creek. And thirdly, Junction Reservoir sits directly below Union House Dam. Geography Beginning at Island Lake in the Desolation Wilderness on the western slope of the Crystal Range The Crystal Range is a small chain of mount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Fork American River
The South Fork American River is a major tributary of the American River in El Dorado County, California, draining a watershed on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada east of Sacramento. The river begins in pristine Desolation Wilderness and flows through the Sierra Nevada foothills. The river at Coloma was the site of James Marshall's discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, which started the California Gold Rush. The South Fork of the American is "the most popular recreation stream in the West" for whitewater rafting in North America, e.g., 80,000 visitors in 2011. Professional whitewater rafting companies have been offering commercial rafting trips on the South Fork American River since 1978. Geography The river begins at Nebelhorn near Johnson Pass about south of Lake Tahoe. From there it flows west for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed 2011-03-10 past the towns of Kyburz, Pollock P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sierra Nevada (U
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily in Nevada. The Sierra Nevada is part of the American Cordillera, an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges that forms the western "backbone" of the Americas. The Sierra runs north-south and its width ranges from to across east–west. Notable features include General Sherman (tree), General Sherman, the largest tree in the world by volume; Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America; Mount Whitney at , the highest point in the contiguous United States; and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers from one-hundred-million-year-old granite, containing List of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park, high waterfalls. The Sierra is home to three national parks, twenty wilderness areas, and two national mon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upper American River Project
The Upper American River Project (UARP) is a hydroelectric system operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) of Sacramento, California in the United States. The system consists of 11 dams and eight powerhouses that tap the upper tributaries of the American River drainage in the Sierra Nevada for power generation. Total installed capacity is over 687 MW, producing 1.8 billion KWh annually, enough for 20 percent of the city's electricity needs. The project mainly utilizes water from the South Fork American River and its tributaries, although some water is drawn from the Rubicon River, a tributary of the Middle Fork American River. Project dams provide water storage of about and a total hydraulic head of from the highest reservoir to the lowest powerplant outflow. History The UARP was authorized on August 28, 1957 by an act of the Federal Power Commission. SMUD began construction in September of that year, and the first power generation from UARP came online at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollock Pines, California
Pollock Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pollock Pines lies at an elevation of in the Sierra Nevada. The population was 6,871 at the 2010 census, up from 4,728 at the 2000 census. Geography Pollock Pines receives annual snowfall between and . The town sits on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , over 99% of it land. For the 2000 census, the CDP had a total area of , all of it land. The area encompassing Pollock Pines is in a heavily timbered mountain region situated along the ridgetop on the south side of the South Fork of the American River. It is considered a "very high fire hazard severity zone", although it received grants from the state's cap and trade carbon trading program to trim vegetation on the ridgeline south of Highway 50. It is approxima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyburz, California
Kyburz (formerly, Slippery Ford and Slipperyford) is a small unincorporated community in El Dorado County, California. It is located along the South Fork of the American River and U.S. Route 50, and is surrounded by the Eldorado National Forest. Its elevation is 4058 feet (1237 m) above sea level. Settlement began a mile west at Webster’s Sugar Loaf House as a remount station for the pony express on April 3, 1860. The route ran through where US 50 locally is today. The Slippery Ford post office opened in 1861. The name was changed to Slipperyford in 1896, and to Kyburz in 1911, by its Postmaster Albert Kyburz, in memory of his father Samuel Kyburz, who was an early California pioneer with John Sutter. The locale was along the Lincoln Highway Sierra Nevada Southern Route by 1916. Ski racer Spider Sabich grew up in Kyburz, where his father, Vladimir Sr., was stationed with the California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Union Valley Reservoir
Union Valley Reservoir is a reservoir in eastern El Dorado County, California, about northeast of Placerville. The lake is in Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of . It was formed in 1963 by the high earth and rockfill Union Valley Dam on Silver Creek, which is a tributary of the American River. The reservoir is part of the Upper American River Project of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a public electric utility, which operates the dam and many other dams in the area. Recreation such as boating, fishing and camping is available there. It stores snow melt runoff during the spring and releases it during the summer when electrical demand is greatest to a chain of hydroelectric power plants downstream. Union Valley Powerhouse at the base of the dam has a capacity of 46.7 MW and is operated as a peaking power plant, supplying electricity during times of the greatest demand. Consumptive rights to the water itself are held by the City of Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desolation Wilderness
The Desolation Wilderness is a federally protected wilderness area in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, in El Dorado County, California. The crest of the Sierra Nevada runs through it, just west of Lake Tahoe. History Before European settlement in the mid-19th century, there is evidence this area was used by the Washoe. After, it was known at times as "Devil's Valley," and most often used for cattle grazing. By the end of that century, the first formal step to limiting its development when it was made a Forest Reserve, managed first by the General Land Office, and later, by the US Forest Service. It was set aside as the Desolation Valley Primitive Area in 1931 with an area of . In 1969, it became the Desolation Wilderness after the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964.Godfrey, Anthony. ''The Ever-Changing View-A History of the National Forests in California''. USDA Forest Service Publishers, 2005. p. 445. Access Desolation is a popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystal Range
The Crystal Range is a small chain of mountain peaks in the Desolation Wilderness The Desolation Wilderness is a federally protected wilderness area in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, in El Dorado County, California. The crest of the Sierra Nevada runs through it, just west of Lake Tahoe. ... in the U.S. state of California. It is a subrange of the Sierra Nevada. The highest and most southerly peak is Pyramid Peak at 9985 ft; Mount Agassiz is next north at 9967 ft, with Mount Price (9975 ft) rounding out the southern group of peaks. Tells Peak is the northernmost named peak in the range. It is southwest of Lake Tahoe and north of U.S. Route 50. Two main access roads run off of U.S. Route 50, Ice House Road, which is furthest west, and more easterly, Wright's Lake Road which is a steep road not conducive to trailers or large vehicles. Many access the tallest peak Pyramid Peak from Hwy 50 directly hiking in, to the Deso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
