Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam, 602 ft (183 m) high and 3,460 ft (1,055 m) long, on the Sacramento River, N Calif. built 1938–45. One of the largest concrete dams in the world, it is a major unit in the Central Valley project . The dam restores navigable depths to the Sacramento River, provides flood control, electric power, and irrigation and reclamation development. Its reservoir, Shasta Lake, 46 sq mi (119 sq km), is formed by the impounded waters of the Sacramento, Pit, and McCloud rivers. The lake is included in Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreational Area (see National Parks and Monuments , table).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Physical Geography
Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-