Morris Reservoir is located in the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

, within the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...

, in Los Angeles County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is impounded by

Morris Dam Morris Dam (officially the Samuel B. Morris Dam) is a concrete gravity dam across the San Gabriel River in the U.S. state of California. It impounds Morris Reservoir, directly downstream of San Gabriel Dam. The dam was built in the 1930s as a ...

, which was completed in 1935. Morris Dam is a gravity dam rising above the San Gabriel River stream bed.

Geography

The reservoir is located alongside

California State Route 39 State Route 39 (SR 39) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels through Orange and Los Angeles counties. Its southern terminus is at Pacific Coast Highway ( SR 1), in Huntington Beach. SR 39's northern terminus is a ...

, approximately north of the city of

Azusa Azusa may refer to: Relating to California From a Native American language, likely Tongva language, Tongva ''Asuksagna:'' *Azusa, California, a city in the United States *Azusa Pacific University, a Christian-based institution in Azusa, California ...

. Morris Reservoir is just downstream from the

San Gabriel Dam San Gabriel Dam is a rock-fill dam on the San Gabriel River in Los Angeles County, California, within the Angeles National Forest. Completed in 1939, the dam impounds the main stem of the San Gabriel River about downstream from the confluence of ...

. The mean water elevation is about , when the reservoir is at capacity.

Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site

The reservoir and its slopes were the Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site, a naval weapons test facility, from World War II through the 1990s.The Center for Land Use Interpretation: Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site
— history . accessed 7.14.2014 The reservoir was transferred to the

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) is responsible for the construction and operation of Los Angeles County's roads, building safety, sewerage, and flood control. DPW also operates traffic signals and intelligent transpor ...

in 1995. The test facility was established by

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, which was developing weapons for the Navy at its Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake (town), near

Ridgecrest, California Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in California, U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lak ...

. It today is now known as the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and is still the primary proving ground for naval weapons systems. Because China Lake is a dry lake in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, Caltech opened this substation at the Morris Reservoir, near their campus, north of Azusa in the San Gabriel Mountains. This site was used especially for the development of submarine-based warfare systems, including torpedoes, bombs, and submarine-launched missiles like the Polaris rocket, the first ballistic missile that could be launched from submerged submarines. Most of the buildings at the site have been removed, and the site is being restored to a "natural" state, and may once again be open to the public.

References

External links

*
The Caltech Archives: Morris Dam reservoir, San Gabriel MountainsMorris Dam Water Supply Enhancement Project
Final Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration
Morris Dam valve leakage photoMorris Dam data
Reservoirs in Los Angeles County, California San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel River (California) Angeles National Forest Azusa, California Los Angeles County Department of Public Works 1935 establishments in California Systems command installations of the United States Navy Military facilities in Greater Los Angeles 1940s establishments in California 1990s disestablishments in California Historic American Engineering Record in California Reservoirs in California Reservoirs in Southern California {{LosAngelesCountyCA-geo-stub

Geography

Morris Reservoir Naval Weapons Test Site

See also

References

External links