Bear River Dam (National ID # CA00379, also known as the Upper Bear River Dam) is a dam in
Amador County, California,
due east of
Sacramento
)
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.
The rockfill dam was constructed in with a height of , and a length of at its crest. It impounds the
Bear River for hydroelectric power generation and municipal water supply. It is owned and operated by
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the largest private owner of hydroelectric facilities in the United States, making it one of the company's 174 dams.
The reservoir it creates, Bear River Reservoir, has a normal water surface of and has a maximum capacity of . Recreation includes fishing, swimming, and camping, however the Upper Bear River Reservoir can only be accessed by foot, and is mostly unused by the public.
The
Lower Bear River Reservoir and its own dam lie immediately downstream and to the west, also owned by PG&E.
The dam is being examined as the upper pool in a 380–1,140 MW
pumped-storage
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...
project with the
Salt Springs Reservoir as the lower pool.
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in California
*
List of lakes in California
There are more than 3,000 named lakes, reservoirs, and dry lakes in the U.S. state of California.
Largest lakes
In terms of area covered, the largest lake in California is the Salton Sea, a lake formed in 1905 which is now saline. It occupie ...
References
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Buildings and structures in Amador County, California
Dams completed in 1900
Dams in California
Pacific Gas and Electric Company dams
Reservoirs in Amador County, California
Rock-filled dams
Reservoirs in California
Reservoirs in Northern California