Box Canyon Dam, Gravity dam near Mount Shasta, California.
Box Canyon Dam is a gravity dam on the Upper Sacramento River in the eastern Trinity Mountains. It holds back water to create Lake Siskiyou, which sits surrounded by forested ridges and slopes.
The dam was planned after extended studies in the 1960s, and the main structure was completed in 1970. A power plant followed a few years later to generate electricity from flowing water.
The Lake Siskiyou Trail system incorporates the dam structure into its path network, connecting local outdoor recreation areas with the surrounding Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
The lake is easy to reach from nearby towns and offers access to the water for fishing and boating from several points. Visitors should know that water levels change with the season, so the shoreline varies throughout the year.
The dam's spillway manages water discharge rates up to 56,000 cubic feet per second through the narrow canyon leading toward the town of Mount Shasta.
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