| Hell Hole Reservoir | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Hell Hole Reservoir  Hell Hole Reservoir | |
| Location | Placer County, California |
| Coordinates | 39°04′48″N 120°23′32″W / 39.08011°N 120.39230°W |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Water volume | 208,400 acre⋅ft (257,100,000 m3) |
| Surface elevation | 4,630 ft (1,411 m) |
Hell Hole Reservoir is an artificial, crescent-shaped lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range 10 miles (16 km) west of Lake Tahoe in California, United States. The lake is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long when at full capacity.
The lake was created in 1966 with the completion of Lower Hell Hole Dam across the Rubicon River, a major tributary of the Middle Fork of the American River.[1] Hell Hole is named for a deep canyon which is now under the waters of the lake.
How the canyon came to be named Hell Hole is a combination of folklore and speculation. An early author, George Wharton James (1858–1923), visited the canyon in 1913.[2] He imagined that one of the miners seeking riches in the 1860s, in what was then called "Squaw Valley", now Olympic Valley must have thought it "a hell of a hole to get into or out of", but admitted his source for the place name was more speculative than the anonymous miner's chances for riches in the area.[2]
James' guide for the 1913 camping expedition to Hell Hole was Bob Watson, a well-known camping guide who operated in the Lake Tahoe Region from the 1880s into the first decades of the 20th century. Watson may have been the source of the story as he sought to entertain and edify his paying clients with tales of local history. James attributed much of the local lore to Watson.
The United States Board on Geographic Names attributes the first use of the name "Hell Hole" to a United States Geological Survey map of 1894. The board was created in 1890, so previous uses of the name on federal government maps are possible.
James reported finding a natural lake near the Hell Hole chasm known as Bear Lake, which would have been drowned by the reservoir. He also described Hell Hole in terms that bely the colorful name: "Hell Hole? Then give me more of it," he wrote. The author reported his pleasure of the canyon was derived from its rugged nature that precluded human exploitation: Logging, mining, water development and road building, evident in other portions of the Lake Tahoe region. It was "a paradise of delightful surprises," he wrote.[2]
- ^ Brass plaque installed at dam breakwater: "Placer County Water Agency; Middle Fork American River Development; Hell Hole Reservoir and Dam -1966. Acre feet - 207,590. Height 410 feet (120 m). Area 1,253 acres (5.07 km2)."
- ^ a b c James, George Wharton The Lake of the Sky, J.F. Tapley Co, New York,1915 Ch.15-16