Shaver Lake is an

artificial lake 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 Stevenson Creek, in the

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...

Fresno County, California Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edison's

Big Creek Hydroelectric Project The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The use and reu ...

. The town

Shaver Lake Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...

is located on its south-west shore.

Background

In 1917

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of app ...

purchased the lake which had been owned by the

Fresno Flume and Lumber Company Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

for transporting lumber down to the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. The lake was formed with the construction of Shaver Lake Dam, which was built by

and completed in 1927. The 180-foot dam was built in 50-foot (15-m) blocks, with a keyway to hold it in place and a 75-centimeter (30-inch)

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 ...

sheet to make it watertight. Its capacity is . Some water from the lake is discharged into Stevenson Creek for

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and other

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

, but the rest is diverted to Big Creek, where it powers several hydroelectric plants in succession. The area now covered by the lake was extensively logged before the dam was built, and an extensive

log flume A log flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Logging operations pre ...

system several miles long was constructed to bring logs down the mountain. The town to this day maintains a nostalgic logging theme. Several buildings in town are in fact old, converted sawmills. Adjacent to the lake is Camp Edison, built and operated by SCE. On August 13, 1943, Grace Craycroft (née Shaver), the daughter of

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

lumberman Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

Charles B. Shaver after whom the lake and town is named, drowned after suffering from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

whilst attempting to save a 12-year-old boy from drowning. The

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

shows ''Endurance: High Sierras'' and ''Capture'' were filmed at Shaver Lake in summer 2006 and summer 2013, respectively. The lake was also the filming location of the

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

reality show ''

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

'' during the summer of 2019. The Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project is a non-profit organization to educate the public on fishing and make Shaver Lake a fishing destination.

Camp Chawanakee :''(not to be confused with the Sequoyah Council located in Tennessee and Virginia)'' The Sequoia Council serves Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare Counties in California. Founded in 1919 as the Fresno Council, it changed its name to Sequoia Counci ...

, a

Scout camp Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

, is located on a peninsula on the southern shore of Shaver Lake. BSA troops from all over California attend each summer. The camp's facilities include canoeing, sailing, row boats, kayaking, swimming, hiking, rifle shooting, shotgun, archery, horse riding, rock wall, zip lining, fishing, crafts, and many other activities.

References

External links

Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project
Reservoirs in Fresno County, California Lakes of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Sierra National Forest Reservoirs in California Reservoirs in Northern California {{FresnoCountyCA-geo-stub

Background

See also

References

External links