Twain Harte Dam
Dam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Twain Harte Dam (National ID # CA00649) is a multiple arch dam in Tuolumne County, California. Its reservoir is Twain Harte Lake and it is located near Twain Harte, California.
| Twain Harte Dam | |
|---|---|
  Twain Harte Dam Location within California  Twain Harte Dam Location within the United States | |
| Coordinates | 38°1′43.04″N 120°14′37.44″W |
| Construction began | 1927 |
| Opening date | 1928 |
Developers began building Twain Harte Dam in the summer of 1927.[1] It was completed in 1928 and is owned by the Twain Harte Lake Association.[2] The dam is 36 feet (11 m) high, 325 feet (99 m) in length, and 8 feet (2.4 m) in width.[3] The dam has a crest elevation of 3,509.8 feet (1,069.8 m) and its volume is 1,197 cubic yards (915 m3).
In August 2014, fracturing of a granite dome known as "the Rock" located adjacent to the dam forced the closing and draining of the lake for safety reasons.[4][5] It was feared the dam would fail and there would be a flash flood in Sullivan Creek.[6] The cause of this fracturing is a process known as exfoliation.[7]
Twain Harte Lake is the name of the reservoir created by Twain Harte Dam. It has a normal water surface of 12 acres (4.9 ha), and a maximum capacity of 143 acre-feet (176,000 m3). Its drainage area is 1.04 square miles (2.7 km2). The lake is used for recreation and is available only to members of the Twain Harte Lake Association.
