Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Should Englebright Dam Be Removed? Completed

By Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center January 1, 2005

Information about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's study from 2001-2004, on Englebright Dam and the science behind its removal.

Poster laid out with photos, images, and text.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Read articles from the USGS newsletter Sound Waves:

“Sediment Study to Improve Salmon and Trout Habitat in Northern California Reservoir”

“Western Coastal and Marine Geology Team Welcomes Two New Postdocs”

Learn more about USGS studies on habitat restoration and dam removal.

link
View from the sky of a large estuary with large and small waterways surrounded by villages and agriculture, hills in background.

Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area

Objectives: Support further work by the USGS and collaborating federal, state, and local agencies and academic partners in analyzing the effectiveness of restoration work in coastal watersheds and estuaries in the Monterey Bay area. The USGS will play a supporting role in field efforts led by NOAA and California State University - Monterey Bay to measure physical and ecological changes in the...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area

Objectives: Support further work by the USGS and collaborating federal, state, and local agencies and academic partners in analyzing the effectiveness of restoration work in coastal watersheds and estuaries in the Monterey Bay area. The USGS will play a supporting role in field efforts led by NOAA and California State University - Monterey Bay to measure physical and ecological changes in the...
Learn More
link
Elwha River flowing through former Aldwell reservoir

USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project

The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project

The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.
Learn More

Link to poster image

Poster laid out with photos, images, and text.
Should Englebright Dam Be Removed?
Should Englebright Dam Be Removed?
Poster laid out with photos, images, and text.

Should Englebright Dam Be Removed?

Should Englebright Dam Be Removed?

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS, in cooperation with the Upper Yuba River Studies Program and the California Bay–Delta Authority (CALFED), studied Englebright Lake. Englebright Dam was built in 1941 to trap sediment washed downstream by hydraulic gold mining.

By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Poster laid out with photos, images, and text.

Should Englebright Dam Be Removed?

Should Englebright Dam Be Removed?

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS, in cooperation with the Upper Yuba River Studies Program and the California Bay–Delta Authority (CALFED), studied Englebright Lake. Englebright Dam was built in 1941 to trap sediment washed downstream by hydraulic gold mining.

By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

Swath bathymetric survey of Englebright Lake, Yuba-Nevada Counties, California

In March, 2004, the USGS conducted a swath bathymetric survey of Englebright Lake, a 9-mile long reservoir located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California on the Yuba River. This survey was follow-on to an earlier bathymetric survey and sediment thickness analysis done by the USGS in 2001 (Childs and others, 2003). The primary purpose of these studies is to assess the quantity and na
Authors
Jonathan R. Childs, Andrew J. Stevenson
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Reconstructing depositional processes and history from reservoir stratigraphy: Englebright Lake, Yuba River, northern California

Reservoirs provide the opportunity to link watershed history with its stratigraphic record. We analyze sediment cores from a northern California reservoir in the context of hydrologic history, watershed management, and depositional processes. Observations of recent depositional patterns, sediment‐transport calculations, and 137Cs geochronology support a conceptual model in which the reservoir delt
Authors
N.P. Snyder, S.A. Wright, Charles N. Alpers, L. E. Flint, C. W. Holmes, D. M. Rubin
By
Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Geochemical data for mercury, methylmercury, and other constituents in sediments from Englebright Lake, California, 2002

This report presents geochemical data from two 2002 sampling campaigns conducted in Englebright Lake on the Yuba River in northern California. A deep coring campaign was done in May-June 2002 and a shallow sampling campaign was completed in October 2002. This work assessed the chemical composition of material deposited in the reservoir between 1940, the year Englebright Dam was completed, and 2002
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, Michael P. Hunerlach, Mark C. Marvin-DePasquale, Ronald C. Antweiler, Brenda K. Lasorsa, John F. De Wild, Noah P. Snyder
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, California Water Science Center

Sediment grain-size and loss-on-ignition analyses from 2002 Englebright Lake coring and sampling campaigns

This report presents sedimentologic data from three 2002 sampling campaigns conducted in Englebright Lake on the Yuba River in northern California. This work was done to assess the properties of the material deposited in the reservoir between completion of Englebright Dam in 1940 and 2002, as part of the Upper Yuba River Studies Program. Included are the results of grain-size-distribution and loss
Authors
Noah P. Snyder, James R. Allen, Carlin Dare, Margaret A. Hampton, Gary Schneider, Ryan J. Wooley, Charles N. Alpers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program

Report on the May-June 2002 Englebright Lake deep coring campaign

This report describes the May-June 2002 Englebright Lake coring project. Englebright Lake is a 14- km-long reservoir on the Yuba River of northern California, impounded by Englebright Dam, which was completed in 1940. The sediments were cored to assess the current conditions in the reservoir as part of the California Bay-Delta Authority?s Upper Yuba River Studies Program. Sediment was collected us
Authors
Noah P. Snyder, Charles N. Alpers, Lorraine E. Flint, Jennifer A. Curtins, Margaret A. Hampton, Brian J. Haskell, Dennis L. Nielson

Estimating accumulation rates and physical properties of sediment behind a dam: Englebright Lake, Yuba River, northern California

Studies of reservoir sedimentation are vital to understanding scientific and management issues related to watershed sediment budgets, depositional processes, reservoir operations, and dam decommissioning. Here we quantify the mass, organic content, and grain-size distribution of a reservoir deposit in northern California by two methods of extrapolating measurements of sediment physical properties
Authors
Noah P. Snyder, David M. Rubin, Charles N. Alpers, Jonathan R. Childs, Jennifer A. Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Scott A. Wright
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Washington Water Science Center, California Water Science Center

Bathymetric and geophysical surveys of Englebright Lake, Yuba-Nevada Counties, California

Harry L. Englebright Lake is a 9-mile-long (14-kilometer) reservoir located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California on the Yuba River gorge known as The Narrows. The reservoir is impounded by Englebright Dam (Photo 1), a concrete arch structure spanning 348 meters (1,142 feet) across and 79 meters (260 feet) high. The dam was constructed in 1941 for the primary purpose of trapping se
Authors
Jonathan R. Childs, Noah P. Snyder, Margaret A. Hampton
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Preliminary cross section of Englebright Lake sediments

Overview -- The Upper Yuba River Studies Program is a CALFED-funded, multidisciplinary investigation of the feasibility of introducing anadromous fish species to the Yuba River system upstream of Englebright Dam. Englebright Lake (Figure 1 on poster) is a narrow, 14-km-long reservoir located in the northern Sierra Nevada, northeast of Marysville, CA. The dam was completed in 1941 for the primary p
Authors
Noah P. Snyder, Margaret A. Hampton
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center