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Lake Oroville Dam itself is a marvel. At 770 feet in height and taller than Hoover Dam
(Hoover Dam is 726.4 feet high). Lake Oroville is the highest dam in the United States.
Bidwell Marina is the home of a number of happy sailors and sail boats.
When full, Lake Oroville Dam stands at 900 feet above sea level and
has a shoreline of 167 miles and 15,500 surface acres.
In Dec. 2002 the water level fell to 690 feet, which is 210 feet below the crest. That was the third lowest level in Lake Oroville's history.
The record low was 645 feet above sea level in 1977.
The newest concrete launch ramp goes down to 702 feet.
The dam stands an impressive 770 feet high and is 6,920 feet long at the top (note that Hoover Dam is
only 1,244 feet wide).
Lake Oroville is the main storage facility for the California State Water Project and is the nation's largest state built multi-purpose water development project.
The lake reservoir is the second largest in all of California and is only surpassed by Lake Shasta which is in the Federal Central Valley Project.
Lake Oroville's water goes to Southern California as well as a diversion of the lake is to flush salt water
when it threatens periodically to encroach too far into the Sacramanto-San Joaquin Delta. The Delta water quality
is constantly monitored and if the salinity goes too high then some of Lake Oroville's water is dumped in order
to flush the salinity.
No other lake in the region experiences water level volatility like Lake Oroville's.
Lake Oroville's recreation area provides a lot of recreational opportunities such as camping, swimming, hiking, boating, and both bike and horseback riding along the many
trails around the lake.
Houseboats can be rented and there are numberous floating campsites available on Lake Oroville.
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