Pyramid Lake (California)

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For the lake in Nevada, see Pyramid Lake (Nevada).

Pyramid Lake

Location	Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates	34°39′18.48″N, 118°46′29.99″WCoordinates: 34°39′18.48″N, 118°46′29.99″W
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Piru Creek
Primary outflows	Piru Creek
Basin countries	United States
Water volume	222 mio m³
Surface elevation	2,579 feet (786 m) (spillway elevation)

Pyramid Lake is also a lake formed by Pyramid Dam on Piru Creek, near Castaic, California. The 180,000 acre-foot (222,000,000 m³) reservoir is in the southern portion of the Los Padres National Forest in the northwest corner of Los Angeles County. The 386 foot (118 m) tall earth and rock dam was built by the California Department of Water Resources and was completed in 1973. Pyramid Lake is part of the California Aqueduct, which is part of the California State Water Project. Downstream is Castaic Lake, which is the terminus of the west branch of the aqueduct. Pyramid and Castaic act as the upper and lower reservoirs for a 1,495 megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric plant. It is the deepest lake in the California Water Project system. Its name comes from the Pyramid Rock, created when a ridge was cut through in 1932 by the Ridge Route Alternate (US 99). Pyramid Rock still exists directly in front of the dam.

A lake-level drawdown of about 23 feet (7.0 m) started on February 18, 2008. The reduced lake level was necessary to remove sediment that had accumulated around the United States Forest Service (USFS) boat dock over the past 34 years. The California Department of Boating and Waterways will also make repairs to the boating launch ramp’s east boarding float system. Sediment removal is scheduled to end on Monday, March 17, 2008, and the refill process will begin – culminating with reopening of the lake and park on April 5, 2008.^[1]