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Picture gallery of the Owens Valley and other waterscapes of California and Northern Nevada

Posted by: Maven on August 18, 2009 at 8:11 am

I recently traveled to Reno for a week, stopping along the way and taking lots of pictures. I will be putting these pictures with other pictures I have taken over the years, and will be building another photo tour – this one of the Owens Valley and the L.A. Aqueduct system.  This post is the pictures from my trip, and is just a sampling of the slideshow to come.  Look for it in a couple of weeks.

This picture is of some wildflowers in the Owens Valley.

So … from the LA Aqueduct siphon at Jawbone Canyon to the alpine scenery of the Sierras, from the Lake Tahoe to Nevada’s Pyramid Lake, and even a picture of the very first dam ever built by the U.S. Reclamation Service, click ‘Read More’ to check out some pictures from my trip!

My first stop was Jawbone Canyon, where I took this shot of this siphon, a part of the original aqueduct system. According to the Center for Land Use Interpretation, it is 8,095 feet long with an 850 foot drop, the largest of the siphons on the aqueduct. (I actually thought the Antelope Valley siphon was the largest, but I haven’t researched that yet. I’ve enough photos for a photo tour of the area & the aqueduct system, so look for more on that in the upcoming weeks.) The original aqueduct is entirely gravity powered for it’s 226 mile journey.


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I think it needs a new paint job, though … or something ….

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On to the Haiwee Reservoirs (there are two), which is closed to the public.

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This is the restored Lower Owens River, off of the Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road.

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This is the shot looking back at the Sierras. It is very remote here, very quiet.

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Next stop, up above Bishop, was at the Pleasant Valley Dam. Hmmm… danger ahead? Here I go, anyway, showing my dedication to you, dear reader, to bring you these pictures of the waterscapes of California. Be fearless, dear Aquakids! It’s for the blog!

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Up at the top of the hill, here’s the reservoir, backed up in this canyon. At the top of the reservoir is the Gorge Power Plant (a picture of this later on).

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Here is the spillway. It’s a long way down!

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The outflow of the dam flows down this narrow canyon south towards Bishop. Just beyond this shot is a nice campground. A few fishermen were camping here.

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Further up the road, I took this shot of Mono Lake.

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Any trip to Reno during the summertime must include a trip to one of my favorite places, Lake Tahoe.

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It’s hard to take a bad shot of it!

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If you haven’t ever gone there, you simply must! Hiking, mountain biking, gambling, boating, or just simply sitting on the beach are some of the activities you can enjoy there in the summertime. The smell of the pine forest is incredible. And of course, world class skiing in the winter.

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I was glad to see that the bark beetle infestation was somehow only limited to the east side of Heavenly Valley (in the picture, the swath of brown on the mountain to the right of the casinos at Stateline).

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A few days later, we traveled to Pyramid Lake, which is about the same distance from Reno, only instead of going southwest into the Sierras, we headed northeast into the desert. Pyramid Lake is a terminal lake; the Truckee River flows out of Lake Tahoe, through Reno, and ends up here.

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The lake is named for the pyramid which is on the east side of the lake.  Pyramid Lake resides entirely within an Indian reservation.  Although the lake is salty, the lake is used for boating and watersports, as well as fishing.

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The lake is also alkaline, which means tufa formations, just like Mono Lake.

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At the south end of the lake where the river flow enters, there were a lot of birds.  The lake is home to one of the largest nesting grounds for white pelicans in the United States.


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This is the Truckee River at Nixon, just a few miles from where it empties into Pyramid Lake. There are some ranches that line the river here, but it is still quite remote.

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This is the Truckee River further south of the lake, at Wadsworth.

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This is Derby Dam, the very first dam ever built by the U. S. Reclamation Service.  It is specification 1, drawing 1, and it’s part of the Newlands project.  It is located east of Reno-Sparks area on the Truckee River.  Although it has it’s own freeway exit & historical plaque, it was very hard to see the actual dam, and I was held back by No Trespassing signs and a chain link fence.  This is the best shot I could get.

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Time to head back home, but my poor kids know that a trip with the Aqua Blog Maven never goes directly home… So, first detour is to check out the June Lake Loop. We are coming from the north, so we start at the bottom. The June Lake Loop goes by four lakes, the first one from our direction is Grant Lake, which is actually a reservoir on the Los Angeles Aqueduct system. Output from the dam at the north end flows either into the aqueduct or down through Rush Creek into Mono Lake. There is fishing and watersports here.

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The next lake we come to is Silver Lake. There are many campgrounds in this area, and a lot of fishing here. A lot of hiking trails in the area, too. I didn’t see any boats on this lake.

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The third lake, Gull Lake, couldn’t be seen from the road. This is the last lake, June Lake. There is a charming small village by this lake, and watersports and swimming at this lake. I would like to come back and camp at one of the numerous campgrounds in the area. It is one place that you can pitch your tent and camp remotely, and go a mile or two down the road and have breakfast in a coffee shop if you want. Lots of vacation rentals here if you don’t want to pitch a tent.

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Further down the road, I stop to get a look at the Owens Gorge, which, by the way, is not best viewed by taking the “Owens Gorge Road” noted by the highway sign. This is actually on a practically unmarked road north of Bishop which leads to the three DWP power plants located here. The gorge is very deep – finally I find a shot of the Owens River far below.

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The rocks here are incredible!

I would like to walk down one of the roads into the gorge somewhat – the DWP signs say I cannot camp but not that I can’t go down the road on foot, but the Aquakids are feeling lazy and I’ve still got a long way to drive. For another day ….

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Is this the new color for the aqueduct? Unless it is the original aqueduct, everywhere else I have seen it, it has been white (ivory), or in some places tan-ish, but here it’s army green.

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There are three LA DWP power plants here; this is the one at the bottom of the gorge.  This power plant is at the top of the Pleasant Valley reservoir.

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Loved this sign…. Eeewww!


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On to Klondike Lake, a lake that is right along the roadside 2 miles north of Big Pine, but is completely unmarked. It is maintained by DWP as a waterfowl area. Also, water sports are allowed on the lake. This seems to be something only the residents know about.

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Because Klondike Lake is on the aqueduct system, they are very concerned about quagga mussel infestation. So, like most lakes, inspections are necessary.

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However, DWP officials couldn’t afford a full-time inspector at this remote lake and considered closing the lake to recreational use, but residents really worked with DWP for some sort of solution. Here is how they solved the problem – I was quite impressed! You enter on the left, where you must ‘run the gauntlet’, so to speak, designed so that you cannot travel through these blocks with a trailer attached. (Can[‘t drive it drunk, either!)  Cars exiting drive over the teeth designed to prevent one from entering through that way. And to the right of this picture is a gate, which has a sign posted with the hours the times an inspector is available. People can leave their watercraft inside the lake overnight; watercraft can leave but cannot enter without an inspection.

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This is the Fish Springs Hatchery, one of many hatcheries operated in the Owens Valley.

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Diaz Lake is one of the few natural lakes in the area.  It was formed as a result of the 1872 earthquake.  Prior to that, it was just a spring-fed marsh, but the earthquake dropped the ground, creating a much larger area to fill.

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And this is the Owens Lake, which is looking greener and wetter each time I travel due to the dust mitigation efforts by the DWP.

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And just so you know it is true, here is the Crystal Geyser bottling plant in Olanca. “Bottled at the source”, folks…

August 18, 2009 · Filed Under Aquafornia News & Exclusives, Eastern Sierra

Comments

4 Responses to “Picture gallery of the Owens Valley and other waterscapes of California and Northern Nevada”

  1. ieatfood on August 18th, 2009 9:45 am

    That was a very informative and beautiful pictorial. My favorites were Silver Lake and Klondike Lake. Thank you Aqua Maven and Aqua Kids. :-)

  2. Photo gallery: Los Angeles Aqueduct | Chance of Rain on August 22nd, 2009 4:46 am

    [...] offers a photo tour of Owens Valley and the Los Angeles Aqueduct system. To see it, click here. Category: WaterTags: Aquafornia > chance of rain > Emily Green > Owens [...]

  3. owens dam california photos | Images and Photos on April 19th, 2011 12:44 am

    [...] Picture gallery of the Owens Valley and other waterscapes of … Aug 18, 2009 … This is Derby Dam, the very first dam ever built by …. offers a photo tour of Owens Valley and the Los Angeles Aqueduct system. … California Sportfishing Protection Alliance … [...]

  4. r knox on October 27th, 2011 3:42 pm

    neat – thanks! brings back memories

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