Frenchman Lake Recreation Area
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Frenchman Lake is a reservoir located in southeastern
Plumas County, California Plumas County () is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest comm ...
. It was created by the damming of Little Last Chance Creek in 1961, as part of the
California State Water Project The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP, is a state water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the California Department of Water Resources. The SWP is one of the largest public wat ...
. It was named after its tributary Frenchman Creek, which in turn was named after Claude Francois Seltier, a French immigrant who settled in the area in 1858.


Frenchman Dam

Frenchman Dam was completed in 1961 as part of the
California State Water Project The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP, is a state water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the California Department of Water Resources. The SWP is one of the largest public wat ...
, under the authority of the
California Department of Water Resources The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is part of the California Natural Resources Agency and is responsible for the management and regulation of the State of California's water usage. The department was created in 1956 by Governor ...
. It is a rock-fill and earthen dam high, with a length of at its crest. Normal water storage in the reservoir is .


Geography

The Frenchman Lake's elevation when full is above sea level. The surface area of Frenchman Lake is . The shoreline length is , the maximum depth reaches , averaging . The nearest community is
Chilcoot-Vinton, California Chilcoot-Vinton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plumas County, California, United States. The population was 454 at the 2010 census, up from 387 at the 2000 census. It consists of the communities of Chilcoot and Vinton. Geography Chilcoot ...
which is approximately south.


National Forest Recreation Area

The
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
administers the
Plumas National Forest Plumas National Forest is a 1,146,000-acre (464,000 ha) National forest (United States), United States national forest located in northern California at the northern terminus of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Forest was named after i ...
land surrounding the lake as a National Forest Recreation Area, locally managed as part of the Beckwourth Ranger District. The Frenchman Lake Recreation Area offers a wide variety of summer outdoor experiences including: camping, picnicking, fishing, hunting, boating, jet skiing, mountain biking, swimming and water-skiing. In the winter, ice fishing, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing are favored activities. Public campgrounds are located on the south shore at Cottonwood Springs, Frenchman, Spring Creek and Big Cove. Additionally there is another campground located below the dam along Little Last Chance Creek.


See also

*
List of dams and reservoirs in California Following is a list of dams and reservoirs in California in a sortable table. There are over 1,400 named dams and 1,300 named reservoirs in the state of California. Dams in service :''Please add to this list from the below sources.'' Former ...
*
List of lakes in California There are more than 3,000 named lakes, reservoirs, and dry lakes in the U.S. state of California. Largest lakes In terms of area covered, the largest lake in California is the Salton Sea, a lake formed in 1905 which is now saline. It occup ...


External links

* {{authority control Plumas National Forest Reservoirs in Plumas County, California Parks in Plumas County, California Reservoirs in California Reservoirs in Northern California 1961 establishments in California