Lake Eleanor
Encyclopedia
Lake Eleanor is a reservoir
located in Yosemite National Park
at an altitude of 4657 feet (1,419.5 m). The reservoir has a capacity of 26100 acre.ft and a surface area of 953 acres (3.9 km²). The lake was formed in 1918 by damming Eleanor Creek as part of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
system, constructed to supply water and power to the city of San Francisco.
Lake Eleanor is situated on the site of a smaller, natural lake of the same name. The lake was named after the daughter of Josiah Whitney
, leader of the California Geological Survey
in the 1860s.
The lake now provides opportunities for angling, hiking and camping.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
located in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
at an altitude of 4657 feet (1,419.5 m). The reservoir has a capacity of 26100 acre.ft and a surface area of 953 acres (3.9 km²). The lake was formed in 1918 by damming Eleanor Creek as part of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is a reservoir in Yosemite National Park, about northeast from the city of Merced, California. The reservoir has a capacity of and is formed by the concrete gravity O'Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley on the Tuolumne River...
system, constructed to supply water and power to the city of San Francisco.
Lake Eleanor is situated on the site of a smaller, natural lake of the same name. The lake was named after the daughter of Josiah Whitney
Josiah Whitney
Josiah Dwight Whitney was an American geologist, professor of geology at Harvard University , and chief of the California Geological Survey...
, leader of the California Geological Survey
California Geological Survey
Although it was not until 1880 that the California State Mining Bureau, predecessor to the California Geological Survey, was established, the "roots" of California's state geological survey date to an earlier time...
in the 1860s.
The lake now provides opportunities for angling, hiking and camping.