Shasta Lake Comparison, California Drought, 2014

Located in Shasta County, Shasta Lake is the largest manmade reservoir in California, with a capacity of 4,552,000 acre-feet. These photos, taken in February, 2014 and October, 2014, illustrate the declining water levels in the reservoir.

Shasta Lake provides abundant recreation, including boating, fishing, swimming, water skiing, camping, hunting, and houseboating. Releases from the reservoir serve to control floodwaters and store surplus winter runoff for irrigation in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, maintain navigation flows, provide flows for the conservation of fish in the Sacramento River and water for municipal and industrial use, protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from intrusion of saline ocean water, and generate hydroelectric power. (Note: Information courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation). USGS Images by Angela Smith (top) and Cathy Munday (bottom).