Lake Thomas A Edison (also known as Thomas A. Edison Lake and Edison Lake) is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in the

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada in California, bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and on the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for ...

and in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It is in the Sierra Nevada, and near the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

. The reservoir's waters are impounded by Vermilion Valley Dam (National ID CA00441), which was completed in . The reservoir and dam are part of the

Big Creek Hydroelectric Project The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southe ...

Hydrology

The reservoir discharges into Mono Creek, a tributary of the South Fork

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...

. However, some of its water is diverted to

Huntington Lake Huntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of . The lake receives water from Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, as well as the many streams ...

by means of the Ward Tunnel.

Vermilion Valley Dam

Vermilion Valley Dam is an earthen dam long and high, with of freeboard.

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (SCE), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electric utility company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of approximate ...

owns the dam.

Recreation

Located in

near the

, Lake Thomas A Edison is the centerpiece of Vermilion Valley Resort and Vermillion Campground, which support boating, camping, fishing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and horseback riding.

Access

The lake is three hours away by car from

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. Take State Route 168 east to Huntington Lake, head east on Kaiser Pass Road. The road crosses Kaiser Pass (elevation ) and closes during the winter months. 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 ...

does not recommend it for buses, large motor homes, or vehicles towing trailers. A ferry crosses the lake twice a day (Inactive in 2021 due to extreme low levels of water - travel service to/from the trailhead can be arranged through Vermillion Valley Resort or hikers may follow a trail along the north side of the lake for trail access), linking Vermilion Valley Resort with the

John Muir Wilderness The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for , in the Inyo National Forest, Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist ...

trailhead and providing access to and from the

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, Kings Canyon National Park, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, Se ...

and

Nomenclature

The lake was named after American inventor

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

to mark the 75th anniversary of his invention of the

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a #Filament, filament until it incandescence, glows. The filament is enclosed in a ...

. The dam was named after the valley it flooded, noted for its

reddish Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester city centre. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, the population was 28,052. Historic counties of England, Historical ...

soil.

References

External links

Lake Thomas A. Edison (Edison Lake)
{{authority control Edison, Lake Thomas A. Edison, Lake Thomas A. Sierra National Forest Edison, Lake Thomas A. Edison Southern California Edison dams