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 Lake Oroville SRA - California Posted by:  DougK
N 39° 32.063 W 121° 28.002
10S E 631769 N 4377202
Lake Oroville State Recreation Area is located on the Feather River in the chaparral-oak-pine belt of northern mother-lode country. Lake Oroville, about 75 miles north of Sacramento, is the largest state reservoir in northern California.
Waymark Code: WMMMC1
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/08/2014
Views: 1
Lake Oroville's climate varies with the seasons. Summer temperatures at the lower elevations range from 85 to 100 degrees and from 60 to 70 degrees in the evenings. It is cooler year-round at the higher elevations, with winter temperatures ranging from about 30 degrees to the mid-50s. Annual rainfall ranges from about 26 inches near the Thermalito Forebay to about 60 inches at higher elevations. Spring and fall are usually mild, with pleasant days and cooler evenings.
A visitor center complex atop Kelly Ridge features interpretive displays, an audio-visual room with on request videos, and a 47-foot viewing tower overlooking the lake and dam. To reach the visitor center, continue up Oroville Dam Boulevard beyond the dam turnoff, or take Kelly Ridge Road off Olive Highway. Restrooms are located in the courtyard.
Source: Park Brochure
Park Type: Overnight and Day Use
Activities:
camping
boat-in camping
floating campsites
horse camping
horseback riding
hiking
mountain biking
sailing and power boating
waterskiing
fishing
picnicking
swimming
Background:
For thousands of years, this area was home to the Northwest Maidu people. A typical village might consist of a few families, or it might have 500 or more inhabitants. Often there was a “main” village with sweathouses and other common-use ceremonial buildings. The Maidu were hunters and gatherers. Acorns were their main food source, and nutritional variety came from large and small game, nuts, berries, seeds and fish from what is now the Feather River. In 1820 Captain Luis Arguello was exploring the area and named the river Río de las Plumas (River of Feathers) because the sunlight reflecting on its surface resembled floating feathers.
The lives of the Maidu were disrupted after the 1848 gold discovery. When the Feather River was found to be rich in gold, entrepreneurs and gold seekers flooded into the area, taking Maidu land and establishing several small mining towns. Most towns are now under the lake. A tent city named Ophir (“gold” in Hebrew) became the present city of Oroville. The newcomers also brought diseases to which the native people had no resistance, so their numbers dwindled. Today many Maidu people live on local rancherias, including those at Oroville and Chico.
In 1967 Lake Oroville was created by Oroville Dam, at 770 feet the nation’s tallest earthen dam. The lake conserves water distributed by the State Water Project to homes, farms and industries in the San Francisco Bay area, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. Oroville’s facilities provide flood control, smog-free generation of electric power and recreation. At its maximum fill level of 900 feet, the lake includes some 15,500 surface acres for recreation; 167 miles of shoreline allow boaters to land and explore the surrounding country.
An abundant, varied wildlife population inhabits the area of Lake Oroville. The resident species include mountain lions, raccoons, turkeys, opossums, coyotes, tree and ground squirrels, rabbits, deer, skunks, ringtails, bears and many kinds of native birds.
Date Established?: 1968
Link to Park: [Web Link]
Park Fees: Not listed
Additional Entrance Points: Not Listed
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