French Lake Reservoir

French Lake Reservoir (National ID # CA00247) is a reservoir in Nevada County, California.

The earthen, rock-fill French Lake Dam was first constructed in 1859, and is a candidate for the first use of rock-fill in an engineered dam. Reconstructed in 1948, it impounds Canyon Creek for flood control, irrigation water storage, municipal drinking water, and hydropower. The dam is 100 ft high, with a length of 300 ft at its crest. It is one of ten facilities operated by Nevada Irrigation District.

Overview
French Lake Reservoir has a surface area of 337 acre and a maximum capacity of 13800 acre.ft. The site is surrounded by Tahoe National Forest. The adjacent namesake townsite of French Lake, California is a ghost town of the California Gold Rush era.