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| Shasta Lake | |
|---|---|
 ASentinel-2 image of the lake | |
  Shasta Lake  Shasta Lake | |
| Location | Shasta-Trinity National Forest Shasta County, California |
| Coordinates | 40°45′37″N122°22′19″W / 40.7602°N 122.37190°W /40.7602; -122.37190 |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Sacramento River,Pit River,McCloud River |
| Primary outflows | Sacramento River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 35 mi (56 km) |
| Surface area | 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) |
| Max. depth | 517 ft (158 m) |
| Water volume | 4,552,000 acre⋅ft (5.615 km3) |
| Shore length1 | 365 mi (587 km) |
| Surface elevation | 1,067 ft (325 m) |
| Settlements | Lakehead |
| References | U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Shasta |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
Shasta Lake, also popularly known asLake Shasta,[1] is areservoir inShasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944[2] due to theimpounding of theSacramento River byShasta Dam, the ninth-tallestdam in the US.[3]
Shasta Lake is a key facility of theCentral Valley Project and providesflood control for theSacramento Valley, downstream of the dam. Water outflowgenerates power through the Shasta Powerplant[4] and is subsequently used forirrigation and municipal purposes.[5]
The reservoir lies within theWhiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area, operated by theShasta-Trinity National Forest.
TheCalifornia Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has formed a safe-eating advisory for fish caught in the lake, based on levels ofmercury andPCBs found in local species.[6] TheShasta-Keswick Reservoir system is significantly contaminated withheavy metals, primarily due to contributions from four streams.[7] Three of these streams containacid mine drainage, withSpring Creek being the most notable contributor, releasing high concentrations ofcadmium,copper andzinc into the water. At the points where these acid streams mix with lake water, localized toxicity occurs, posing an immediate threat to aquatic life. Thesynergistic effects of these metals further exacerbate the environmental impact, leading to concerns about the safety of consuming fish from this water source.[7]
With a capacity of 4,552,000 acre⋅ft (5.615 km3) at full pool, the lake has anelevation of 1,067 ft (325 m), and asurface area of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha), making it the state's largestreservoir, and its third-largest body of water afterLake Tahoe and theSalton Sea.
Ten miles (16 km) north of the city ofRedding, with the town ofLakehead on its northern shore, Shasta Lake is popular forboating,water skiing, camping, house boating and fishing. Formed by the damming of theSacramento River, the lake has 365 mi (587 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees andmanzanita. The maximum depth is 517 feet (158 m).
The lake has four major arms, each created by an approaching river: theSacramento River, theMcCloud River,Sulanharas Creek, and thePit River. The Sacramento River's source is theKlamath Mountains. The McCloud River's source isMount Shasta. The Pit River flows fromAlturas, and the waterfall Potem Falls is located on that arm of the lake.
Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945 across theSacramento River, and Shasta Lake was formed in 1948. ThePit River,McCloud River, and several smallertributaries had their lower courses andconfluences with the Sacramento River submerged by the reservoir. Also beneath the lake is the submerged town ofKennett and many village sites of theWintun people together with their traditional fishing, hunting, and gathering locations. Parts of the defunct tunnels and right of way of theSouthern Pacific Transportation Company can be seen when the water level is low.
Shasta Lake hosted the first "Boardstock" event in 1996, which continued there annually through 1999, after which the annual event moved toClear Lake, California, 170 miles southwest of Shasta Lake. Boardstock drew many professional wakeboard riders from around the world, with an average attendance of 15,000 people. The event lasted for 3 days each year with several wakeboard contests being performed.
There are a number of marinas on Shasta Lake offering a variety of services, includinghouseboat rentals.
Shasta Lake has ahot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa) typical of the interior ofNorthern California with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, along with great diurnal temperature variation.
| Climate data for Shasta Dam, California (normals 1981-2010)(extremes 1943-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 80 (27) | 80 (27) | 88 (31) | 97 (36) | 107 (42) | 111 (44) | 115 (46) | 115 (46) | 114 (46) | 104 (40) | 90 (32) | 76 (24) | 115 (46) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 53.0 (11.7) | 57.0 (13.9) | 62.3 (16.8) | 68.6 (20.3) | 77.6 (25.3) | 86.5 (30.3) | 95.3 (35.2) | 94.3 (34.6) | 88.1 (31.2) | 76.0 (24.4) | 60.3 (15.7) | 52.7 (11.5) | 72.6 (22.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 46.3 (7.9) | 49.2 (9.6) | 53.0 (11.7) | 58.0 (14.4) | 66.3 (19.1) | 74.5 (23.6) | 81.8 (27.7) | 80.6 (27.0) | 75.2 (24.0) | 65.2 (18.4) | 52.9 (11.6) | 46.3 (7.9) | 62.4 (16.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 39.5 (4.2) | 41.4 (5.2) | 43.6 (6.4) | 47.4 (8.6) | 55.0 (12.8) | 62.5 (16.9) | 68.3 (20.2) | 66.8 (19.3) | 62.2 (16.8) | 54.4 (12.4) | 45.4 (7.4) | 40.0 (4.4) | 52.5 (11.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) | 21 (−6) | 25 (−4) | 28 (−2) | 35 (2) | 38 (3) | 50 (10) | 44 (7) | 43 (6) | 34 (1) | 30 (−1) | 14 (−10) | 14 (−10) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 10.84 (275) | 11.33 (288) | 9.48 (241) | 4.75 (121) | 3.23 (82) | 1.37 (35) | 0.20 (5.1) | 0.25 (6.4) | 1.00 (25) | 3.68 (93) | 7.63 (194) | 12.06 (306) | 65.82 (1,672) |
| Average precipitation days | 14 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 93 |
| Source:NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
