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Location Information:
Folsom
Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the
American River in Northern
California, about 25 miles northeast
of Sacramento. Folsom Dam is 340
feet (100 m) high concrete and 1,400
feet (430 m), long flanked by
earthen wing dams. It was completed
in 1955.
The
dam, at the juncture of the north
and south forks of the American
River, was built by the United
States Army Corps of Engineers, and
upon its completion, was transferred
to the United States Bureau of
Reclamation. The dam and lake are
part of the Central Valley Project,
a multipurpose project that provides
flood control, hydroelectricity,
drinking water and water for
irrigation. Upgrades to provide
increased flood protection for
Sacramento are scheduled to be
completed in 2015.
The
current Folsom Dam, built in 1955,
replaced an earlier, smaller dam
that had been completed in 1893 by
Horatio Gates Livermore. The earlier
dam had fed the Folsom Powerhouse,
generating electricity that was
transmitted to Sacramento over a 22
miles (35 km)-long distribution
line, the longest electrical
distribution system in the world at
the time. The remains of the earlier
dam can be seen downstream from the
Folsom Lake Crossing.
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