Dams in California

1,436Total Dams

807High Hazard

162Significant

466Low Hazard

Dam Safety in California

California has 1,436 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 807 (56%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 162 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 70 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in California is 76 years old. As dams age, inspection frequency and maintenance become increasingly important for ensuring public safety. The most common purpose for dams in California is water supply, accounting for 747 of the state's dams.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in California, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

California Dam Facts

Total Dams	1,436
High Hazard Dams	807
Average Dam Age	76 years
Tallest Dam	770 ft
Largest Reservoir	4,661,860 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	70

Notable Dams in California

Oroville770 ftHigh New Bullards Bar645 ftHigh New Melones Dam625 ftHigh Shasta Dam602 ftHigh Seven Oaks550 ftHigh

Explore California Dams

Oldest DamsEarliest dams in California Tallest DamsHighest dams in California

Counties in California

Alameda22 dams18 high hazard Alpine26 dams6 high hazard Amador21 dams11 high hazard Butte25 dams14 high hazard Calaveras40 dams23 high hazard Colusa6 dams3 high hazard Contra Costa26 dams23 high hazard El Dorado51 dams20 high hazard Fresno32 dams20 high hazard Glenn5 dams1 high hazard Humboldt2 dams1 high hazard Imperial3 dams3 high hazard Inyo8 dams6 high hazard Kern25 dams11 high hazard Kings5 dams Lake21 dams14 high hazard Lassen53 dams8 high hazard Los Angeles103 dams81 high hazard Madera21 dams11 high hazard Marin17 dams10 high hazard Mariposa12 dams6 high hazard Mendocino28 dams15 high hazard Merced11 dams6 high hazard Modoc75 dams8 high hazard Mono20 dams14 high hazard Monterey17 dams5 high hazard Napa59 dams38 high hazard Nevada48 dams22 high hazard Orange43 dams35 high hazard Placer39 dams23 high hazard Plumas24 dams16 high hazard Riverside46 dams40 high hazard Sacramento20 dams9 high hazard San Benito7 dams4 high hazard San Bernardino44 dams37 high hazard San Diego59 dams42 high hazard San Francisco7 dams7 high hazard San Joaquin11 dams4 high hazard San Luis Obispo13 dams10 high hazard San Mateo21 dams12 high hazard Santa Barbara14 dams14 high hazard Santa Clara42 dams26 high hazard Santa Cruz6 dams3 high hazard Shasta45 dams22 high hazard Sierra9 dams2 high hazard Siskiyou18 dams4 high hazard Solano20 dams14 high hazard Sonoma64 dams35 high hazard Stanislaus11 dams4 high hazard Sutter1 dams Tehama9 dams Trinity6 dams5 high hazard Tulare8 dams1 high hazard Tuolumne32 dams19 high hazard Ventura16 dams14 high hazard Yolo3 dams1 high hazard Yuba16 dams6 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in California

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Oroville	Butte	770 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
New Bullards Bar	Yuba	645 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
New Melones Dam	Calaveras	625 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Shasta Dam	Shasta	602 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Seven Oaks	San Bernardino	550 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Trinity Dam	Trinity	538 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Union Valley	El Dorado	455 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Pine Flat Dam	Fresno	440 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Pyramid	Los Angeles	422 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Mammoth Pool	Madera	411 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Hell Hole	Placer	410 ft	Fair	Irrigation
San Gabriel	Los Angeles	381 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Pacoima	Los Angeles	365 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Warm Springs Dam	Sonoma	356 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Pardee	Calaveras	352 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Castaic	Los Angeles	340 ft	Poor	Water Supply
San Vicente	San Diego	338 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Salt Springs	Calaveras	328 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Donnells	Tuolumne	317 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cherry Valley	Tuolumne	315 ft	Fair	Other
Courtright	Fresno	315 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
O`shaughnessy	Tuolumne	312 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Olivenhain	San Diego	309 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Monticello Dam	Napa	304 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
Sly Creek	Butte	299 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Diamond Valley Lake	Riverside	284 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Beardsley	Tuolumne	284 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Harry L. Englebright Dam	Yuba	280 ft	Not Available	Debris Control
Bradbury Dam	Santa Barbara	279 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
Briones	Contra Costa	273 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Cogswell	Los Angeles	266 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
New Spicer Meadow	Tuolumne	265 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Mathews	Riverside	264 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Mccloud	Shasta	255 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Nacimiento	San Luis Obispo	255 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Sugar Pine	Placer	251 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Slab Creek	El Dorado	250 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Big Creek Dam No. 7	Madera	250 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cedar Springs	San Bernardino	249 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Morris	Los Angeles	245 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Lower Bear	Amador	245 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Twitchell Dam	Santa Barbara	241 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Anderson	Santa Clara	240 ft	Unsatisfactory	Water Supply
Stampede Dam	Sierra	239 ft	Not Available	Irrigation
El Capitan	San Diego	237 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Los Vaqueros	Contra Costa	231 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
L. L. Anderson	Placer	231 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Peters	Marin	230 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Trampas Canyon	Orange	229 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Ramona	San Diego	228 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Pit No. 7 Diversion	Shasta	228 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Rollins	Nevada	228 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
New Lake Arrowhead	San Bernardino	225 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Big Santa Anita	Los Angeles	225 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Indian Valley	Lake	225 ft	Fair	Irrigation
San Joaquin Reservoir	Orange	224 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Del Valle	Alameda	222 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Box Canyon	Siskiyou	220 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Big Tujunga No. 1	Los Angeles	220 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Buchanan Dam	Madera	219 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Iron Canyon	Shasta	214 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Santa Felicia	Ventura	213 ft	Poor	Water Supply
New Calaveras	Alameda	210 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Little Grass Valley	Plumas	210 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
New Hogan Dam	Calaveras	210 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
James J. Lenihan	Santa Clara	208 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Tulloch	Calaveras	205 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Jackson Meadows	Nevada	205 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Lake Loveland	San Diego	203 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Camp Far West	Yuba	203 ft	Fair	Irrigation
San Antonio	Monterey	202 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Chet Harritt	San Diego	200 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Mojave River Dam - Saddle Dike 1	San Bernardino	200 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Spring Creek Debris Dam	Shasta	196 ft	Not Available	Debris Control
Mulholland	Los Angeles	195 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Pit No. 6 Diversion	Shasta	195 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
James H. Turner	Alameda	193 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Whale Rock	San Luis Obispo	193 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Jackson Creek	Amador	193 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Bouquet Canyon	Los Angeles	190 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Stone Canyon	Los Angeles	188 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Walnut Canyon	Orange	187 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Austrian	Santa Clara	185 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Isabella Dam	Kern	185 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Copper Basin	San Bernardino	184 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Hidden Dam	Madera	184 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Newell	Santa Cruz	182 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Sly Park	El Dorado	182 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
New Upper San Leandro	Alameda	182 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Morena	San Diego	181 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Coyote Valley Dam	Mendocino	180 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Upper Chiquita	Orange	177 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Paradise	Butte	175 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Scotts Flat	Nevada	175 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Virginia Ranch	Yuba	172 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
San Pablo	Contra Costa	170 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Homestake Tailings	Lake	169 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Gibraltar	Santa Barbara	169 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Priest	Tuolumne	168 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Encino	Los Angeles	168 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply