Dams in California

%!s(int=400)Total Dams

210High Hazard

49Significant

140Low Hazard

Dam Safety in California

California has 400 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 210 (52%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 49 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 23 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in California is 84 years old. Many of these aging structures were built before modern dam safety standards were established, which increases the importance of regular inspections and maintenance. The most common purpose for dams in California is hydroelectric, accounting for 174 of the state's dams.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in California, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

California Dam Facts

Total Dams	400
High Hazard Dams	210
Average Dam Age	84 years
Tallest Dam	770 ft
Largest Reservoir	4,661,860 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	23

Notable Dams in California

Oroville770 ftHigh New Bullards Bar645 ftHigh New Melones Dam625 ftHigh Shasta Dam602 ftHigh Trinity Dam538 ftHigh

Counties in California

Alpine9 dams2 high hazard Amador9 dams6 high hazard Butte16 dams8 high hazard Calaveras12 dams10 high hazard Colusa4 dams2 high hazard Contra Costa2 dams1 high hazard El Dorado16 dams7 high hazard Fresno18 dams11 high hazard Glenn2 dams1 high hazard Imperial3 dams3 high hazard Inyo4 dams2 high hazard Kern7 dams3 high hazard Lake3 dams2 high hazard Lassen10 dams Los Angeles15 dams13 high hazard Madera11 dams7 high hazard Marin4 dams1 high hazard Mariposa6 dams5 high hazard Mendocino2 dams2 high hazard Merced5 dams4 high hazard Modoc30 dams3 high hazard Mono9 dams8 high hazard Monterey10 dams2 high hazard Napa2 dams2 high hazard Nevada34 dams16 high hazard Orange3 dams3 high hazard Placer19 dams13 high hazard Plumas15 dams9 high hazard Riverside5 dams4 high hazard Sacramento4 dams4 high hazard San Benito2 dams2 high hazard San Bernardino8 dams6 high hazard San Diego6 dams1 high hazard San Joaquin5 dams2 high hazard San Luis Obispo3 dams2 high hazard San Mateo1 dams Santa Barbara6 dams6 high hazard Santa Clara2 dams2 high hazard Santa Cruz1 dams Shasta23 dams14 high hazard Sierra5 dams1 high hazard Siskiyou4 dams1 high hazard Solano1 dams Sonoma1 dams1 high hazard Stanislaus3 dams Tehama5 dams Trinity4 dams4 high hazard Tulare2 dams Tuolumne13 dams7 high hazard Ventura3 dams2 high hazard Yolo1 dams Yuba12 dams5 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in California

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Oroville	Butte	770 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
New Bullards Bar	Yuba	645 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
New Melones Dam	Calaveras	625 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Shasta Dam	Shasta	602 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Trinity Dam	Trinity	538 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Union Valley	El Dorado	455 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Pine Flat Dam	Fresno	440 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Pyramid	Los Angeles	422 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Mammoth Pool	Madera	411 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Hell Hole	Placer	410 ft	Fair	Irrigation
San Gabriel	Los Angeles	381 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Warm Springs Dam	Sonoma	356 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Pardee	Calaveras	352 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Salt Springs	Calaveras	328 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Donnells	Tuolumne	317 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Courtright	Fresno	315 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Monticello Dam	Napa	304 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
Sly Creek	Butte	299 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Beardsley	Tuolumne	284 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Harry L. Englebright Dam	Yuba	280 ft	Not Available	Debris Control
Bradbury Dam	Santa Barbara	279 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
New Spicer Meadow	Tuolumne	265 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Mccloud	Shasta	255 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Nacimiento	San Luis Obispo	255 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Slab Creek	El Dorado	250 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Big Creek Dam No. 7	Madera	250 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cedar Springs	San Bernardino	249 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Lower Bear	Amador	245 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Twitchell Dam	Santa Barbara	241 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Anderson	Santa Clara	240 ft	Unsatisfactory	Water Supply
Stampede Dam	Sierra	239 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
L. L. Anderson	Placer	231 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Pit No. 7 Diversion	Shasta	228 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Rollins	Nevada	228 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Indian Valley	Lake	225 ft	Fair	Irrigation
Box Canyon	Siskiyou	220 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Buchanan Dam	Madera	219 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Iron Canyon	Shasta	214 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Santa Felicia	Ventura	213 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Little Grass Valley	Plumas	210 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
New Hogan Dam	Calaveras	210 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Tulloch	Calaveras	205 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Jackson Meadows	Nevada	205 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Camp Far West	Yuba	203 ft	Fair	Irrigation
Mojave River Dam - Saddle Dike 1	San Bernardino	200 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Spring Creek Debris Dam	Shasta	196 ft	Not Available	Debris Control
Pit No. 6 Diversion	Shasta	195 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Jackson Creek	Amador	193 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Isabella Dam	Kern	185 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Hidden Dam	Madera	184 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Coyote Valley Dam	Mendocino	180 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Scotts Flat	Nevada	175 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Virginia Ranch	Yuba	172 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Los Banos Creek Detention Dam	Merced	167 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Prosser Creek Dam	Nevada	166 ft	Not Available	Water Supply
Balch Afterbay	Fresno	165 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Big Creek Dam No. 3	Fresno	165 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Vermilion Valley	Fresno	165 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
San Antonio Dam	San Bernardino	160 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Keswick Dam	Shasta	157 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Big Creek Dam No. 6	Madera	155 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Belden Forebay	Plumas	152 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Ice House Main	El Dorado	152 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Little Panoche Detention	Fresno	151 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
R. W. Matthews	Trinity	150 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Florence Lake	Fresno	149 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Lake Fordyce	Nevada	145 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Crane Valley	Madera	145 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Strawberry	Tuolumne	143 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Thermalito Diversion	Butte	143 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Relief	Tuolumne	140 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Stony Gorge Dam	Glenn	139 ft	Not Available	Water Supply
Scott	Lake	138 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Lauro Dam	Santa Barbara	137 ft	Not Available	Water Supply
Tabeaud	Amador	136 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Pit No. 3 Diversion	Shasta	135 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lake Almanor	Plumas	135 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Balch Diversion	Fresno	135 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Glen Anne Dam	Santa Barbara	135 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
Salinas Dam	San Luis Obispo	135 ft	Not Available	Water Supply
Lyons	Tuolumne	132 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Ortega Dam	Santa Barbara	131 ft	Not Available	Water Supply
Chili Bar	El Dorado	126 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Rock Creek	Plumas	126 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Bucks Lake	Plumas	123 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lost Creek	Butte	122 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Tiger Creek Afterbay	Amador	120 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Boca Dam	Nevada	116 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Cresta	Plumas	113 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Martis Creek Dam	Nevada	113 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Cpud Middle Fork	Calaveras	112 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Pit No. 4 Diversion	Shasta	110 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Bowman Arch	Nevada	109 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Lake Combie	Nevada	100 ft	Fair	Irrigation
Lower Bucks Lake	Plumas	99 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Carbon Canyon Dam	Orange	99 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Grizzly Forebay	Plumas	98 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Mcswain	Mariposa	97 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Exchequer Dike	Mariposa	97 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Our House	Nevada	97 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply