Vail Lake is a large

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 ...

in western

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, southern

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 ...

Geography

It is located on

Temecula Creek Temecula Creek, formerly known as the Temecula River, runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 16, 2011 through southern Riverside County, California, United States, pas ...

, in the

Butterfield Valley Butterfield Valley is a valley along the course of Temecula Creek, in Riverside County, California. Its lower end is now filled by Vail Lake. It heads at and its mouth is at the site of the Vail Lake Dam at the head of the deep canyon Temecula Cr ...

, south of Oak Mountain, of the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

, in the

Santa Margarita River The Santa Margarita River which with the addition of what is now Temecula Creek, was formerly known as the Temecula River, is a short intermittent river on the Pacific coast of southern California in the United States, approximately U.S. Geologic ...

watershed. It is approximately east of

Temecula Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

. Vail Lake covers approximately 1,100 acres (4.5 km²) and has a storage capacity of , although it currently contains about of water. Vail Lake is supplied by storm water runoff from Kolb, Temecula, and Wilson Creeks. Surface water stored in the lake is used to help replenish local ground water supplies through recharge operations. ;Flora Land near Vail Lake is the only known native habitat of the

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and endangered flowering shrub ''

Ceanothus ophiochilus ''Ceanothus ophiochilus'' is a rare species of flowering shrub known by the common name Vail Lake ceanothus, native to Southern California. It was not described until 1991. Distribution The ''Ceanothus ophiochilus'' plant is endemic to Californi ...

'', which was named the Vail Lake ceanothus when it was discovered in 1989.

History

It was created in 1948 when the owners of the Vail Ranch constructed the high Vail Lake Dam, which has been owned and operated by the Rancho California Water District since 1978. The property surrounding Vail Lake is privately owned, and recreational access to the lake is privately controlled. The Butterfield Country Recreation Park was established in 1968 to provide public access to the lake and its marina, but the park was closed by its owners in 1989. In 1995, a members-only resort facility was opened at the location of the former park; and in 2000, the area was re-opened to the public on an annual-fee basis. Recreational activities at Vail Lake include fishing, boating, RV, mountain biking, miniature golf and swimming.

References

Reservoirs in Riverside County, California Dams in California United States local public utility dams Temecula, California Reservoirs in California Reservoirs in Southern California {{RiversideCountyCA-geo-stub

Geography

History

See also

References