Mississippi Lake is
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
Mississippi Creek Mississippi Creek is a tributary stream to Pacheco Creek in Santa Clara County, California.
Its mouth is located at an elevation of at its confluence with the North Fork Pacheco Creek. Its source is located at on the south flank of Bear Mounta ...
within
Henry W. Coe State Park
Henry W. Coe State Park (often known simply as Henry Coe or Coe Park) is a state park of California, United States, preserving a vast tract of the Diablo Range. The park is located closest to the city of Morgan Hill, and is located in both Sa ...
in
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
. It is also the largest reservoir in the park.
History
Mississippi Lake was created when the valley of Mississippi Creek, that runs southward through the Diablo Range, was dammed in the 20th century on the south side of
Valle Atravesado and is now 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 ...
. This reservoir was originally named Murray Lake, named after its builder Murray Hopkins, who not only built the reservoir but the 59 miles of
County Line Road along the
divide of the Diablo Range between
San Antonio Valley
The community of San Antonio Valley, also called San Antonio or San Antone, is located along the Diablo Range in eastern Santa Clara County, California. The locale is bordered by Alameda County to the north and Stanislaus County to the east. ...
and
Fifield Ranch.
[ Frank F. Latta, JOAQUIN MURRIETA AND HIS HORSE GANGS, Bear State Books, Santa Cruz, California. 1980.]
Current status
Mississippi Lake has camping around the lake and bass fishing. Vault toilets are at the south and northwest ends of the lake.
Henry Coe State Park Backpacking – Mississippi Lake
from backpackersreview.wordpress.com accessed January 26, 2019
References
{{reflist
Reservoirs in Santa Clara County, California
Diablo Range