Cougar Reservoir (also known as Cougar Lake) is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

on the

South Fork McKenzie River The South Fork McKenzie River is a tributary, about long, of the McKenzie River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins at about above sea level near Mink Lake in the Three Sisters Wilderness of the Cascade Range. Flowing northwest within Lane ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is in Lane County, east of Eugene and about south of the community of

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

in the

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seven ...

. In 1963 the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

built

Cougar Dam Cougar Dam is a tall rockfill hydroelectric dam in the U.S. state of Oregon. It has a gated concrete spillway and a powerhouse with two turbines totaling 25 megawatts of electric power. The dam impounds the South Fork McKenzie River about east ...

on the river primarily to generate

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

and control flooding, and the reservoir formed behind the dam. The lake is also used for recreation, including boating, fishing, swimming, and

waterskiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a Surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a Cable skiing, cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or ...

. The

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

maintains three campgrounds—Cougar Crossing, Slide Creek, and Sunnyside—near the reservoir, with opportunities for hiking and picnicking as well as camping. Other campgrounds in the general vicinity include French Pete and Delta.

Terwilliger Hot Springs Terwilliger Hot Springs, also known as Cougar Hot Springs, are geothermal pools in the Willamette National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, east of Eugene. The springs drain into Rider Creek, which in turn drains into Cougar Reservoir. The ...

is along Rider Creek just west of the lake. Cougar Reservoir supports populations of stocked

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

and stocked landlocked

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

as well as naturally reproducing

cutthroat trout The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific tro ...

. Fishing for rainbow trout, especially in winter, is said to be "fair". The lake also supports

bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate specie ...

, but it is not legal to catch and keep them.

References

External links

Cougar Dam and Lake
– U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cougar Reservoirs in Oregon Lakes of Lane County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Lane County, Oregon Protected areas of Lane County, Oregon Willamette National Forest 1963 establishments in Oregon

See also

References

External links