Hidden Dam

Hidden Dam is an earthen dam on the Fresno River in Madera County, California. It creates a reservoir known as Hensley Lake.

Hensley Lake & Hidden Dam
Aerial view of the lake
Hensley Lake & Hidden Dam
Location	Madera County, California, United States. Near Raymond.
Coordinates	37.111025°N 119.884330°W / 37.111025; -119.884330
Lake type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Fresno River
Primary outflows	Fresno River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	1,500 acres (610 ha)
Water volume	90,000 acre⋅ft (0.11 km3)
Shore length1	20 mi (32 km)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Hensley Vista Point

The dam was constructed in 1974 (51 years ago) (1974) by the Perini Corporation as part of an expansive United States Army Corps of Engineers project for flood control, irrigation storage, and recreation.^[1][2] The dam is 184 feet (56 m) tall, is 5,730 feet (1,750 m) long at its crest, and is the only major storage dam of the Fresno River.

The reservoir it creates, Hensley Lake, has a water surface of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), over 20 miles (32 km) of shoreline, and has a maximum storage capacity of 90,000 acre-feet (110,000,000 m³).^[3] In 1978 the lake was opened to day-use recreation, including water skiing, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, mountain biking, and hiking.^[4] The Hidden View Campground offers single and group camping year-round.

The lake is named for local settler and cattle rancher John Jackson Hensley.^[5]

Eastman Lake, another Corps of Engineers lake, is located 15 miles (24 km) to the northwest.

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in California
• List of lakes in California