Don Pedro Reservoir

Don Pedro Reservoir is a reservoir formed by the construction of the New Don Pedro Dam across the Tuolumne River in the Stanislaus National Forest of Tuolumne County, California.GeographyThe reservoir is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Communities located nearby are Moccasin and La Grange. It is the sixth-largest reservoir in California. Also referenced as Don Pedro Lake when the name is qualified, the first projects in 1923 are generally referred to as the Old Don Pedro Dam and reservoir, and the 1971 upgrades are the New Don Pedro Dam and reservoir. Don Pedro Reservoir takes its name from Don Pedros Bar. Pierre ("Don Pedro") Sainsevain was one of the first prospectors after the discovery of gold in 1848 that began the California Gold Rush.When full, the reservoir's shoreline is approximately 160mi. The reservoir submerges some 26mi of Tuolumne River bed, and has a surface area of about 13000acre. The 2030000acre.ft stored here comes from a watershed of over 1500sqmi, and is used by the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) and the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) for the irrigation of several hundred square miles of San Joaquin Valley farm land.