Oldest Dams in California

California has 1369 dams with recorded construction dates. The oldest dates to 1850 — 176 years ago. California's earliest dams were built in the 19th century, an era of westward expansion, irrigation development, and early water infrastructure. Older dams require particular attention for safety, as many were built before modern engineering standards.

#	Dam	County	Year Built	Age	Height (ft)	Hazard	Condition
1	Emery	Calaveras	1850	176 yrs	53	Low	Satisfactory
2	Kidd Lake Auxiliary	Placer	1850	176 yrs	15	High	Satisfactory
3	Upper Peak Lake	Placer	1850	176 yrs	39	High	Satisfactory
4	Mammoth Reservoir	Placer	1851	175 yrs	23	High	Satisfactory
5	Culbertson Lake	Nevada	1852	174 yrs	20	Low	Satisfactory
6	Lower Rock Lake	Nevada	1855	171 yrs	11	Low	Satisfactory
7	Meadow Lake	Nevada	1855	171 yrs	38	Low	Satisfactory
8	Upper Rock Lake Auxiliary	Nevada	1855	171 yrs	9	Low	Satisfactory
9	White Rock Lake	Nevada	1855	171 yrs	14	Low	Satisfactory
10	Blue Lake	Nevada	1856	170 yrs	25	High	Satisfactory
11	Rucker Lake	Nevada	1856	170 yrs	22	High	Satisfactory
12	Fuller Lake	Nevada	1856	170 yrs	39	Low	Satisfactory
13	Lake Sterling	Nevada	1858	168 yrs	34	Low	Satisfactory
14	French Lake	Nevada	1859	167 yrs	95	High	Satisfactory
15	Lower Peak Lake Auxiliary	Placer	1860	166 yrs	7	High	Satisfactory
16	San Diego Reservoir	Tuolumne	1860	166 yrs	39	High	Satisfactory
17	Lake Alta	Placer	1862	164 yrs	22	High	Fair
18	Bidwell Lake	Plumas	1865	161 yrs	35	High	Satisfactory
19	Eureka	Plumas	1866	160 yrs	29	Significant	Satisfactory
20	Pilarcitos	San Mateo	1866	160 yrs	103	High	Poor
21	Lake Temescal	Alameda	1869	157 yrs	116	High	Satisfactory
22	James Montgomery	Shasta	1869	157 yrs	24	Significant	Poor
23	Upper Lindsey	Nevada	1870	156 yrs	8	Low	Satisfactory
24	Middle Lindsey	Nevada	1870	156 yrs	9	Low	Satisfactory
25	Lower Lindsey	Nevada	1870	156 yrs	16	Low	Satisfactory
26	Upper Feeley	Nevada	1870	156 yrs	23	Low	Satisfactory
27	Lower Feeley	Nevada	1870	156 yrs	19	Low	Satisfactory
28	Morning Star	Placer	1870	156 yrs	44	Low	Satisfactory
29	San Andreas	San Mateo	1870	156 yrs	107	High	Fair
30	Lake Chabot	Solano	1870	156 yrs	47	High	Satisfactory
31	Lagunitas	Marin	1872	154 yrs	48	Significant	Satisfactory
32	Sierra Vista	Merced	1872	154 yrs	12	Low	Satisfactory
33	Lake Fordyce	Nevada	1873	153 yrs	145	High	Poor
34	Blakely	El Dorado	1875	151 yrs	19	Low	Poor
35	Jenks Lake - Dam	San Bernardino	1875	151 yrs	30	High	Not Rated
36	Silver Lake	Amador	1876	150 yrs	32	High	Poor
37	Spencer Lake	San Mateo	1876	150 yrs	87	High	Satisfactory
38	George Reese Reservoir	Shasta	1876	150 yrs	29	Significant	Satisfactory
39	Kangaroo Lake	Siskiyou	1876	150 yrs	12	Low	Not Rated
40	Round Valley	Butte	1877	149 yrs	29	High	Unsatisfactory
41	Lake Ranch	Santa Clara	1877	149 yrs	38	High	Satisfactory
42	Ler Howell	Santa Clara	1877	149 yrs	39	Significant	Satisfactory
43	St. Helena Ler	Napa	1878	148 yrs	44	High	Poor
44	Upper Howell	Santa Clara	1878	148 yrs	36	Significant	Satisfactory
45	El Casco	Riverside	1879	147 yrs	19	Low	Satisfactory
46	Branham Flat	Lassen	1880	146 yrs	20	Low	Satisfactory
47	Mcbrien	Modoc	1880	146 yrs	12	Low	Satisfactory
48	Lake Camille	Napa	1880	146 yrs	21	High	Satisfactory
49	Phoenix	Tuolumne	1880	146 yrs	52	High	Satisfactory
50	Lake Eleanor	Ventura	1881	145 yrs	37	High	Satisfactory

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