Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake, also called Lake Shasta, is an artificial lake created by the construction of Shasta Dam across the Sacramento River in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest of Shasta County, California, United States. With a capacity of 4,552,000 acre·ft (5,615,000 dam³) at full pool, the lake has an elevation of 1,067 ft (325 m), and a surface area of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha), making it the state's largest reservoir, and its third-largest body of water after Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea.

Ten miles (16 km) north of the city of Redding, with the town of Lakehead its northern shores, Shasta Lake is popular for boating, water skiing, camping, house boating and fishing. Formed by the damming of the Sacramento River, Pit River, McCloud River and several smaller tributaries, the lake has 365 mi (587 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita. The maximum depth is 517 feet (158 m).

Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945, while the lake was formed in 1948. It became the second largest dam, and tallest concrete dam in the United States. Known as the keystone of the Central Valley Project, outflow from Shasta Dam provides electricity and irrigation for widespread areas of California below the dam as well as flood control for the Sacramento River during the rainy season. Beneath the lake is the submerged town of Kennett, defunct tunnels and right of way of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, parts of which can be seen when the water level is low.

Lake Shasta hosted the first Boardstock in 1996. Boardstock was an annual event which brought pro wakeboard riders in from all over the world with an average attendance of 15,000 people. The last Boardstock event was held on September 19, 1999. Boardstock now holds its annual event on Clear Lake in California.