geo.wikisort.org - Reservoir

Lake Elsman is a 6,200-acre-foot (7,600,000 m³)[2] reservoir, created by an earthen dam called Austrian Dam[5] on Los Gatos Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.[1] At several points it is over 140' deep[6] and its normal surface area is 96 acres.[1] It provides 12% of San Jose Water Works’ total water capacity in some years.[6] The lake and dam is owned by the San Jose Water Company,[6]

Lake Elsman
Lake Elsman Show map of California Lake Elsman Show map of the United States
Location	Santa Clara County, California[2]
Coordinates	37°7′48″N 121°55′51″W
Type	Earth[2]
Primary outflows	Los Gatos Creek[2]
Catchment area	9.8 square miles (25 km2)[2]
Basin countries	United States
Managing agency	San Jose Water Agency[2]
Built	1950 (1950)[2]
Surface area	96 acres (39 ha)[2]
Surface elevation	1,119 feet (341 m)[3][4]

In 1988 and 1989, two earthquakes at M=5.3 and 5.4 respectively occurred at Lake Elsman that transferred stress that led to the 1989 M=6.9 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[7]

Austrian Dam

Construction of the Austrian Dam was completed in 1950.[1] Beneath the reservoir are the remains of the settlements of Austrian Gulch and Germantown.[8] The dam is more than 900 feet (270 m) long and 180 feet (55 m) high.[6] The dam was damaged in the Loma Prieta quake.[9] The performance of Austrian Dam during that earthquake reinforces concerns about damage to the tops of earth dams by earthquakes.[9]

See also

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

References

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