Lake Galena 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 ...

Peace Valley Park Peace Valley Park is a 1,500 acre (6 km²) park located near Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County Park System. The park surrounds Lake Galena (Pennsylvania), Lake G ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, created in 1974 by the damming of the north branch of the

Neshaminy Creek Neshaminy Creek is a United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography DatasetThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 stream that runs entirely through Bucks County, Pennsylvania, rising south of the borough of Chalfont, where its north a ...

History and Hydrology

Lake Galena in its current form was created when the county ( Bucks) flooded the lake in 1972. Before that time, much of the lakebed had been part of the village of New Galena, the economy of which was based largely on farming. Mining of

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

(in addition to small amounts of

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

) had been mildly successful since the property was purchased in 1861. A marker was erected in 1998 to commemorate the area's history. The lake is supplemented by water from the Delaware River Point Pleasant Diversion Project for the purpose of augmenting public drinking water supplies for approximately 150,000 people in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Lake Galena supplies water to the

North Penn Water Authority The North Penn Water Authority (NPWA) is a water utility providing drinking water to portions of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, centered around the Nort ...

and the North Wales Water Authority. The water supply intake is downstream of the dam at the confluence of Pine Run and North Branch Neshaminy Creek.

Peace Valley Park

Lake Galena is surrounded on all sides by

. The park has a number of trails around the perimeter for walkers, cyclists and riders. Other activities include

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

. The distance around the lake is approximately , and an annual "Friends of the Dove" 10K race is held at the lake every summer in August.

In popular culture

In 2011, Doylestown band

Balance and Composure Balance and Composure was an American alternative rock band from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They formed in the winter of 2007, after the breakup of two local Doylestown bands. The band's music was often suggested having similarities to Title Fig ...

released a song titled "Galena" on their album ''Separation'', which is in honor of a friend who died the year prior in a car accident.

References

External links

{{authority control Galena, Lake Protected areas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bodies of water of Bucks County, Pennsylvania