Tallest Dams in California

California has 1436 dams with recorded heights. The tallest is Oroville at 770 feet. Taller dams impound more water and carry greater potential energy, which is why height is a key factor in hazard classification and inspection requirements.

#	Dam	County	Height (ft)	Type	Purpose	Hazard	Year
1	Oroville	Butte	770	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1968
2	New Bullards Bar	Yuba	645	Concrete	Hydroelectric	High	1970
3	New Melones Dam	Calaveras	625	Rockfill	Hydroelectric	High	1979
4	Shasta Dam	Shasta	602	Concrete	Hydroelectric	High	1945
5	Seven Oaks	San Bernardino	550	Rockfill	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1999
6	Trinity Dam	Trinity	538	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1962
7	Union Valley	El Dorado	455	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1962
8	Pine Flat Dam	Fresno	440	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1954
9	Pyramid	Los Angeles	422	Earth	Water Supply	High	1974
10	Mammoth Pool	Madera	411	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1960
11	Hell Hole	Placer	410	Rockfill	Irrigation	High	1966
12	San Gabriel	Los Angeles	381	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1937
13	Pacoima	Los Angeles	365	Arch	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1929
14	Warm Springs Dam	Sonoma	356	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1983
15	Pardee	Calaveras	352	Concrete	Water Supply	High	1929
16	Castaic	Los Angeles	340	Earth	Water Supply	High	1973
17	San Vicente	San Diego	338	Roller-Compacted Concrete	Other	High	1943
18	Salt Springs	Calaveras	328	Rockfill	Hydroelectric	High	1931
19	Donnells	Tuolumne	317	Concrete	Hydroelectric	High	1958
20	Courtright	Fresno	315	Rockfill	Hydroelectric	High	1958
21	Cherry Valley	Tuolumne	315	Earth	Other	High	1956
22	O`shaughnessy	Tuolumne	312	Gravity	Water Supply	High	1923
23	Olivenhain	San Diego	309	Roller-Compacted Concrete	Water Supply	High	2003
24	Monticello Dam	Napa	304	Concrete	Irrigation	High	1957
25	Sly Creek	Butte	299	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1961
26	Diamond Valley Lake	Riverside	284	Earth	Water Supply	High	2000
27	Beardsley	Tuolumne	284	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1957
28	Harry L. Englebright Dam	Yuba	280	Arch	Debris Control	High	1941
29	Bradbury Dam	Santa Barbara	279	Earth	Irrigation	High	1953
30	Briones	Contra Costa	273	Earth	Other	High	1964
31	Cogswell	Los Angeles	266	Rockfill	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1935
32	New Spicer Meadow	Tuolumne	265	Other	Hydroelectric	High	1989
33	Mathews	Riverside	264	Earth	Water Supply	High	1938
34	Nacimiento	San Luis Obispo	255	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1956
35	Mccloud	Shasta	255	Earth	Hydroelectric	High	1965
36	Sugar Pine	Placer	251	Earth	Other	High	1981
37	Slab Creek	El Dorado	250	Concrete	Hydroelectric	High	1967
38	Big Creek Dam No. 7	Madera	250	Concrete	Hydroelectric	High	1951
39	Cedar Springs	San Bernardino	249	Earth	Water Supply	High	1971
40	Lower Bear	Amador	245	Rockfill	Hydroelectric	High	1952
41	Morris	Los Angeles	245	Gravity	Other	High	1935
42	Mckays Point Diversion	Tuolumne	242	Arch	Hydroelectric	Significant	1989
43	Twitchell Dam	Santa Barbara	241	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1958
44	Anderson	Santa Clara	240	Rockfill	Water Supply	High	1950
45	Stampede Dam	Sierra	239	Earth	Irrigation	High	1970
46	El Capitan	San Diego	237	Earth	Water Supply	High	1934
47	Los Vaqueros	Contra Costa	231	Earth	Water Supply	High	1997
48	L. L. Anderson	Placer	231	Earth	Irrigation	High	1965
49	Peters	Marin	230	Earth	Water Supply	High	1954
50	Trampas Canyon	Orange	229	Earth	Other	High	1975

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