Ranger Tim replied to the questions I asked after our dam tour. You can see that blog post here: Terminus Dam and Lake Kaweah.
Great Questions!
Thank you, Ranger Tim!
- In big storm years the Lake has jumped 50 vertical feet in 24 hours so it can fill very quickly but they can also drain it very quickly if they open the gates all the way.
- The radioactive symbol on the tower is leftover from the cold war era when the dam/tower were being constructed in the late 1950s. When the tower was completed in 1962 it was an official bomb shelter. We can’t find any records of who would have been invited, how many people it could hold, or how long they could stay. Its no longer used as a functioning bomb shelter but they thought the sign was historic, so it’s been left on the building.
- The tower is the control center for releasing water out of the reservoir. It goes all the way to the bottom of the lake where there are 3 – 36” pipes that feed into a 12’9” pipe that runs through the dam to outlet near the stilling basin behind the dam. There are valves or “gates” on each of the pipes that a dam operator can open or close as needed to release or store water.
- The wooden platform on the dam was specifically built to be an osprey nest.
- Yes, just south of the tower there is another pipe that carries water to generate hydroelectricity. The power plant is operated by Eagle Creek Hydropower.
- The footprints in the concrete are survey landmarks and are throughout the spillway complex. Each year someone goes out and stands in the impressions and takes a picture. The engineers can then use the pictures to see if the landscape has moved over time. Or, if there was an earthquake they would be able to look for changes in the area.
We love the pencil drawing! That is down at the outlet where the water comes out of the 12’9” pipe and flows into the stilling basin.
Thank you, Ranger Tim!
After I got the answers from Ranger Tim, I had more questions. I’ll put those in a blog post tomorrow.
6 Comments
Good questions, Jana, and some new information in Ranger Tim’s answers! Inquiring minds always want to know more . . . . Looking forward to what we may learn tomorrow. Thank you for asking!
Laurie, thank you for caring about our county!
Oh my gosh, great storytelling information on the dam.
Carol, I know! THIS is what I was wanting to learn on our tour, and Ranger Tim delivered via email, because he wasn’t available for the actual tour.
Ranger Tim’s responses were fascinating! The only answer I already knew was the nest platform. The rest? I had no idea!
And since most of my MK visits are at the end of July or beginning of August, I rarely see the lake completely full. Nice photo!
Sharon, it is so appealing when it is full, all the mucky brown stuff is under water. It’s pretty fascinating that so much survives its yearly flooding—roads, bridges, old foundations, trees, shrubs, and the ubiquitous cockleburs.