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Folsom Lake was created in 1955 by Folsom Dam, a concrete dam flanked by earth wing dams and dikes with a total length of about 9 miles. The lake features some 10,000 surface acres of water when full and has 75 miles of shoreline. It extends about 15 miles up the north fork, and about 10 1/2 miles up the south fork of the American River. The Lake level normally varies from 466 feet elevation in early summer to a low of 426 feet in early winter.
The main dam consists of a 340-foot high concrete center section flanked by long earthen wing dams extending to high ground at either end. This along with other project features, holds over a million acre-feet of water in Folsom Lake.
Directly below the dam is the Folsom Powerplant. Its three generators produce 198,207 kilowatts of power. Each year Folsom Dam prevents potential flooding downstream from winter storms and spring snow runoff.
