Lake Davis

This article is about the reservoir in California. For other uses, see Lake Davis (disambiguation).

Lake Davis
Lake Davis Show map of California Lake Davis Show map of the United States
Location	Plumas County, California[1]
Coordinates	39°54′45″N 120°30′38″W[1]
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Big Grizzly Creek, Freeman Creek, Cow Creek, Dan Blough Creek
Primary outflows	Big Grizzly Creek[2]
Catchment area	44 square miles (110 km^2)[2]
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	5 miles (8.0 km)
Max. width	2 miles (3.2 km)
Surface area	4,026 acres (1,629 ha)[2]
Average depth	21 feet (6.4 m)
Water volume	83,000 acre-feet (102,000,000 m^3)[2]
Surface elevation	5,777 feet (1,761 m)[1]

Lake Davis is an artificial lake in Plumas County, California near the Sierra Nevada community of Portola. Its waters are impounded by Grizzly Valley Dam, which was completed in 1966 (58 years ago) (1966) as part of the California State Water Project. The lake is named for Lester T. Davis (1906–1952).^[1]

Hydrology

The lake discharges into Big Grizzly Creek,^[2] a tributary of the Middle Fork Feather River.

Grizzly Valley Dam

Grizzly Valley Dam
Country	United States
Location	Plumas County, California
Coordinates	39°52′54″N 120°28′34″W
Purpose	California State Water Project
Opening date	1966
Owner(s)	State of California, managed by California Department of Water Resources
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earth and rock
Impounds	Big Grizzly Creek[2]
Height	115 feet (35 m)[2]
Length	800 feet (240 m)[2]
Elevation at crest	5,785 feet (1,763 m)[2]
Width (crest)	30 feet (9.1 m)[2]
Dam volume	253,000 cubic yards (193,000 m^3)[2]
Reservoir
Creates	Lake Davis
Total capacity	83,000 acre-feet (102,000,000 m^3)[2]
Catchment area	44 square miles (110 km^2)[2]
Maximum length	5 miles (8.0 km)
Maximum width	2 miles (3.2 km)

Grizzly Valley Dam is an earth-and-rock dam 800 feet (240 m) long and 115 feet (35 m) high, with 10 feet (3.0 m) of freeboard. The California Department of Water Resources manages the dam.^[2]

Recreation

Located in Plumas National Forest, Lake Davis is the centerpiece of the Lake Davis Recreation Area, which supports boating, campground camping, cross-country skiing, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, picnicking, snowmobiling, swimming, and wildlife viewing.^[3]

Northern pike

During 1996-97 Lake Davis was in the national spotlight due to controversy over northern pike and the possibility of poisoning the lake. Following an explosion of the pike population, and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) decided to treat the reservoir with rotenone, a naturally occurring poison deadly to gilled creatures.^[4]

After the first attempt failed to eradicate the pike and the population rebounded, the DFG again utilized rotenone in September 2007, after lowering the water level.^[5] DFG's justification for the action was their concern that pike might escape the lake and enter the Sacramento River system, potentially harming native anadromous fish species such as steelhead and salmon. The effort was controversial because pike are popular gamefish and considerable effort had already been spent on unsuccessful attempts to rid the lake of pike using explosives, nets, shocking, and poison.

Since the 2007 treatment, there have been no confirmed cases of northern pike in the lake.

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in California
• List of lakes in California

References

1. "Lake Davis". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. "Dams Within the Jurisdiction of the State of California (A-G)" (PDF). California Department of Water Resources, Division of Safety of Dams. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
3. "Grizzly Campground". Retrieved November 17, 2012.
4. "Lake Davis Fisheries Management". Retrieved November 17, 2012.
5. Keith, Tamara (2007-09-25). "California Poisons Lake, Targeting Invasive Pike". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2007-09-25.