San Andreas Lake
| San Andreas Lake | ||
|---|---|---|
Primary inflows San Andreas Creek | | |
| Primary outflows | San Andreas Creek | |
| Catchment area | 4.4 sq mi (11 km2) | |
| Basin countries | United States | |
| Max. length | 4.8 km (3.0 mi) | |
| Surface area | 550 acres (220 ha) | |
| Water volume | 19,027 acre⋅ft (23,469,000 m3) | |
| Surface elevation | 453 ft (138 m) | |
| Settlements | Millbrae San Bruno | |
| References | U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Andreas Lake | |
San Andreas Lake is a reservoir adjacent to the San Francisco Peninsula cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in San Mateo County, California. It is situated directly on the San Andreas Fault, which is named after the valley it is in.[1]
History
After discovering San Francisco Bay from Sweeney Ridge on November 4, 1769, the Portolá expedition descended what Portolá called the Cañada de San Francisco, now San Andreas Creek, to camp in the vicinity of today's San Andreas Lake.
The next day they reached a "Laguna Grande" which today is covered by the Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir. The campsite is marked by California Historical Marker No. 94 "Portola Expedition Camp", located at Crystal Springs Dam, on Skyline Boulevard, 0.1 mi south of Crystal Springs Road.[2] They camped here a second time on November 12, on their return trip.[3]
Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, after forging the first overland route from Monterey, California to San Francisco Bay, explored the peninsula and selected the sites for Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) and the Presidio of San Francisco. De Anza returned to Monterey via the Cañada de San Andrés and camped on the banks of San Mateo Creek on March 29, 1776. In de Anza's diary on March 29, 1776, he wrote: "Night having fallen, at a quarter past six I went down to the arroyo of San Andreas and to another, that of San Matheo, where it descends to empty into the estuary..."[5]
Description
Originally a small natural sag pond, the lake was expanded by the construction of a 100 foot (30 m) high earth dam in 1868.[6][7] The dam survived the 1906 earthquake despite the fact that the fault runs directly under the dam.[8]
Ecology
Construction of the 1868 dam would have trapped
Public access
Since the lake is a public water source, it is closed to the public. However, hikers and bicyclists may travel along the eastern shores of the lake on a paved trail that runs just west of
See also
- List of lakes in California
- List of lakes in the San Francisco Bay Area
References
- ^ Department of Water Resources (2009). "Station Meta Data: San Andreas (SNN)". California Data Exchange Center. State of California. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ "California Historical Landmarks". California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ "California Historical Landmarks". California Office of Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
- ISBN 978-1-884995-14-9. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
- ^ de Anza; Juan Bautista (1776). Diary of Juan Bautista de Anza October 23, 1775 – June 1, 1776. University of Oregon Web de Anza pages. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
- ISBN 978-0-89863-056-5.
- ^ "San Andreas 10-010 Dam". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Robert Iacopi, Earthquake Country (Menlo Park: Lane Publishing Company, 1964)
- ^ Robert A. Leidy; Gordon Becker; Brett N. Harvey (2005). "Historical Status of Coho Salmon in Streams of the Urbanized San Francisco Estuary, California" (PDF). California Fish and Game: 219–254. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
- ^ "Oncorhynchus kisutch". Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ Hallock, C. (1877). The Sportsman's Gazetteer and General Guide. California section in Forest and Stream. New York: Forest and Stream Publishing Company. p. 15. Retrieved 2012-09-10.