Poe Dam is a concrete gravity

diversion dam A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which ...

on the

North Fork Feather River The North Fork Feather River is a watercourse of the northern Sierra Nevada in the U.S. state of California. It flows generally southwards from its headwaters near Lassen Peak to Lake Oroville, a reservoir formed by Oroville Dam in the foothills ...

, about north of

Lake Oroville Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in the ...

in Butte 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 ...

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 ...

. Completed in 1959, the dam is the lowermost component of the

Pacific Gas and Electric Company The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

's Feather River Canyon Power Project, a system of 10 hydroelectric stations along the North Fork. The dam is high and long, with water flows controlled by four radial gates. The dam diverts water through an tunnel to the 120 megawatt Poe Powerhouse, located on the upper reaches of Lake Oroville. The powerhouse has a rated

hydraulic head Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22. It is usually measured as a liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, ...

of , generating about 500 million

kilowatt hour A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

s annually. On November 8, 2018, the

Camp Fire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...

, a destructive wildfire that destroyed the nearby community of Concow and the town of

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

and caused multiple deaths, originated close to Poe Dam at the location of downed power lines across the Feather River. In an initial comment, PG&E stated that a cause of the fire had not been determined yet and that there would be an investigation. Poe Dam is a popular kayaking site.

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{{Reflist, 30em Dams in California Dams completed in 1953 Dams in the Feather River basin Gravity dams Hydroelectric power plants in California 1953 establishments in California

See also

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